Fusarium Head Blight (FHB) is the most
devastating plant disease affecting barley (Hordeum
vulgare) production in the east coast. While most frequently associated
with Fusarium graminearum, recent
studies in NY have shown multiple species associated with FHB in malting
barley. Since 2008, demethylation inhibitors (DMI’s, FRAC code 3) have been the
major class of fungicide active ingredients used to control FHB but concerns of
fungicide resistance developing have prompted the registration of new
fungicides with additional modes of action. In 2019, pydiflumetofen, a
succinate dehydrogenase inhibitor (SDHI, FRAC code 7), was labeled for control
of FHB in small grains. In effort to document baseline fungicide sensitivities
in malting barley, isolates were collected in Delaware, Maryland, and New York
during the 2021-22 growing seasons. Isolates were identified to species by
amplification of Translation Elongation Factor 1ɑ (TEF1). In the preliminary set of 28 isolates, 79% were identified
as F. graminearum, 7% F. verticilloides, 7% F. acuminatum, 3.5% F. poae, and 3.5% F.
asiaticum. New York isolates were the most diverse containing four of the
species recovered. An in vitro poison
plate mycelial assay was conducted using yeast bacto agar (YBA) amended with
pydiflumetofen to final concentrations of 0, 0.01, 0.05, 0.25, 1.0, and 5.0
μg/mL. A subset of F. graminearum
isolates was also grown on PDA amended to the same concentrations for
comparison of media types. The effective concentration to reduce mycelial
growth by 50% (EC50) was determined for each isolate and averaged by species.
Average EC50 values were 1.09 μg/mL for F.
graminearum (n=22), 1.07 μg/mL for F.
verticilloides (n=2), 1.51 μg/mL for
F. acuminatum (n=2), 1.09 μg/mL for F. poae (n=1), and 1.09 μg/mL for F.
asiaticum (n=1). Averages of F.
graminearum on PDA were 1.04 μg/mL (n=8). Growth on YBA was more symmetric
and this media will be used for all future studies. The baseline fungicide
sensitivity levels documented in this preliminary work will be expanded and
used to monitor the response of Fusarium spp.
to SDHI fungicides as use expands.