HT-2 and T-2 toxins in barley inoculated with Fusarium sporotrichioides

Abstract

To assess field production of the Fusarium trichothecenes HT-2 toxin, T-2 toxin, and neosolaniol, inoculation trials with four barley cultivars and local isolates of Fusarium sporotrichioides were performed over 2 yr at an experimental farm in southern Manitoba. In the 1998 study, HT-2 toxin was detected in 14 of 16 barley rows at levels between 0.14 and 0.52 µg g-1, with positive samples averaging 0.26 µg g-1. T-2 toxin was not detected. Fusarium sporotrichioides infection ranged between 15 and 49% with an average value of 29%. In the 1999 study, HT-2 toxin was detected in 16 of 16 barley rows at levels between 0.67 and 3.72 µg g-1, averaging 1.92 µg g-1, and T-2 toxin in 15 of 16 rows between 0.35 and 1.27 µg g-1, with positive samples averaging 0.70 µg g-1. Fusarium sporotrichioides infection ranged between 52 and 93% with an average value of 7 5%. No neosolaniol was detected in any of the samples. The data suggest that in years of moderate F. sporotrichioides infection, HT-2 toxin might to be found in Manitoba barley, and in summers of higher rainfall and fungal infection, T-2 toxin might also be present. Key words: HT-2 toxin, T-2 toxin, Canada, barley, Fusarium sporotrichioides