USWBSI Abstract Viewer

2022 National Fusarium Head Blight Forum


FHB Management (MGMT)

Invited Presenter

Coordinated Fungicide Sensitivity Project

Authors & Affiliations:

Alyssa Koehler1
1. University of Delaware, Plant and Soil Sciences, Georgetown, DE
Corresponding Author: Alyssa Koehler, akoehler@udel.edu

Corresponding Author:

Alyssa Koehler
akoehler@udel.edu

Abstract:

For many years, fungicide control of Fusarium Head Blight (FHB) primarily relied upon the application of demethylation inhibitor (DMI) fungicides. In 2019, the first fungicide containing a succinate dehydrogenase (SDHI) class fungicide was labeled for FHB management in cereal grains. A national effort was initiated in 2020-21 to document baseline fungicide sensitivities of Fusarium species causing FHB in United States wheat to the new active ingredient pydiflumetofen. Isolates were submitted from 16 states as part of a United States Wheat and Barley Scab Initiative (USWBSI) MGMT project. From the total isolate set, 177 F. graminearum isolates were screened for fungicide sensitivity, including 98 collected in 2020, 65 collected in 2021, and 14 historic isolates collected from 1991-2014 that were never exposed to pydiflumetofen. An in vitro assay with fungicide-amended PDA plates at 0, 0.01, 0.05, 0.25, 1.0, and 5.0 μg/mL was established to determine the effective concentration to reduce mycelial growth by 50% (EC50) for each isolate and EC50 values were averaged by state. Average EC50 values for 2020-21 isolates grouped by state ranged from 0.18 to 0.73 μg/mL, with 2020 and 2021 cumulative averages of 0.40 μg/mL and 0.37 μg/mL, respectively. The average EC50 value of historic isolates was 0.35 μg/mL. This project established preliminary baseline sensitivities to enable monitoring of fungicide sensitivity levels as SDHI fungicide exposure becomes more prevalent across small grain production regions of the U.S. Two testing locations have been established to expand this effort to include isolates from additional states, geographies, and cropping systems while also screening additional SDHI and DMI active ingredients. Midwest and Pacific Northwest regions can submit samples and isolates to Dr. Martin Chilvers at Michigan State University and southern and east coast regions can submit to Dr. Alyssa Koehler at the University of Delaware. This project seeks to facilitate isolate collection, storage, and fungicide characterization to promote collaborative efforts to monitor for changes in sensitivity levels over time. 


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