Daily Inoculum Levels of Gibberella zeae on Wheat Spikes

Abstract

The inoculum level of Gibberella zeae on wheat spikes was measured during 1995 and 1996 in nine locations of Canada and the United States prone to Fusarium head blight of wheat. Spikes were exposed after exsertion and until kernel milk or soft dough stage in fields with wheat or corn residue as a source of inoculum; other spikes were exposed in a location remote from any obvious inoculum source; and in 1995 only, control plants remained in a greenhouse. After 24 h, spikes were excised and vigorously shaken in water to remove inoculum. Propagules were enumerated on selective medium and identified as G. zeae from subcultures. Significantly more inoculum was detected from fields in epidemic areas than from remote sites in an epidemic and from fields in nonepidemic areas. The median inoculum level was 20 CFU of G. zeae per spike per day in fields experiencing an epidemic, 4 CFU in locations remote from epidemic fields, 2 CFU in nonepidemic fields, and 1 CFU in locations remote from a source of inocul...