A Two-Year Field Experiment for the Integrated Management of Bread and Durum Wheat Fungal Diseases and of Deoxynivalenol Accumulation in the Grain in Central Italy

Abstract

A two-year (2018/19 and 2019/20) field experiment was carried out to evaluate the efficacy of recently developed fungicide combinations (with different modes of action) towards fungal diseases on seven bread and eight durum wheat varieties. The trial was performed at the FIELDLAB experimental station of the University of Perugia (Italy). The diseases were assessed under natural pressure except for Fusarium head blight (FHB) for which artificial inoculation with a Fusarium culmorum deoxynivalenol (DON)-producing strain was performed at the full flowering stage (BBCH 65). Fungicides were sprayed at the fully extended flag leaf (BBCH 39) and full flowering (BBCH 65) stages. The incidence of different fungal diseases was visually evaluated and other parameters [grains production (t/ha), protein content (%), test weight (kg/hL), and DON accumulation in grain (μg/kg)] were also determined. In the two years, characterized by different climatic conditions, the fungicide treatments showed efficacy in controlling the observed diseases (Septoria tritici blotch and FHB) as well as in reducing DON contamination. No significant differences were found between treatments. The results highlight that, in the present scenario of commercially available durum and bread wheat varieties, the timely application of the most common fungicides plays a crucial role for FHB and DON management in the presence of climatic conditions that are favorable to the disease. The impact of these results in an integrated disease management perspective is discussed.