Effect of Seeding Rate and Seed Treatment Fungicides on Agronomic Performance, Fusarium Head Blight Symptoms, and DON Accumulation in Two Winter Wheats

Fusarium head blight (FHB), caused by Fusarium graminearum, is an important disease of wheat (Triticum aestivum). FHB reduces yield and quality, and the pathogen produces several toxins in the grain, the most important being deoxynivalenol (DON). In North America, the foliar fungicide tebuconazole is used to reduce FHB symptoms and DON accumulation. Because of the narrow window required for its application, uniform flowering of wheat is important. The objective of this study was to investigate the influence of variety, seeding rate, and seed treatment fungicides on the flowering period of winter wheat and their effect on FHB symptoms and DON accumulation. The seed of two winter wheat varieties (Pioneer 25W60 and Pioneer 25R57) was treated with Dividend XL (difeconazole+metalaxyl), Vitaflo 280 (thiram+carbathiin), Raxil (tebuconazole), and Baytan 30 (triadimenol) and planted at 320, 480, and 640 seeds per m for each treatment at Ridgetown, ON, Canada in 2000 and 2001. The plots were sprayed with tebuconazole at 50% anthesis and inoculated with F. graminearum 3 days later. Increased seeding rate increased the number of emerged plants, tillers, spikes per m, and yield. All seed treatments, compared to nontreated controls, increased plant emergence and number of spikes per m, and all except tebuconazole increased tillering and yield. Increased seeding rate decreased the length of flowering period. As flowering period increased, FHB index and DON level decreased, suggesting that greater infection was linked to more uniform flowering.