VIEW ARTICLE

Ecology and Epidemiology

Occurrence of Fusarium Species in Scabby Wheat from Minnesota and their Pathogenicity to Wheat. Roy D. Wilcoxson, Department of Plant Pathology, University of Minnesota, St. Paul 55108; Thor Kommedahl(2), Elizabeth A. Ozmon(3), and Carol E. Windels(4). (2)(3)Department of Plant Pathology, University of Minnesota, St. Paul 55108; (4)Northwest Experiment Station, University of Minnesota, Crookston 56716. Phytopathology 78:586-589. Accepted for publication 3 November 1987. Copyright 1988 The American Phytopathological Society. DOI: 10.1094/Phyto-78-586.

Fifteen Fusarium species were identified in 23,726 isolates obtained from scabby spring wheat. The wheat was collected in 1984, 1985, and 1986 from farm fields and agricultural experiment stations in 24 Minnesota counties located in the wheat growing areas of the state. Fusarium graminearum comprised 75% of the isolates, F. poae 17%, and the other species (F. equiseti, F. sporotrichioides, F. acuminatum, F. oxysporum, F. semitectum, F. moniliforme, F. avenaceum, F. subglutinans, F. proliferatum, F. sambucinum, F. tricinctum, and F. crookwellense) 1 to 2%. Most of the F. graminearum isolates produced perithecia in culture. F. graminearum and F. culmorum infected spikelets of Era wheat in glasshouse tests and spread from the inoculated spikelets into more than half of the spikelets in the spikes. Infection by the other 11 Fusarium species tested was confined to inoculated spikelets.