Importance
Fusarium Crown Rot is one of the most important ailments affecting wheat. Because of wheat’s central role in the global diet, Crown Rot represents a major economic concern. Not only is Crown Rot severe, it is also widespread. Across the United States, average losses in winter wheat resulting from Crown Rot have been estimated to be as high as 9.5% through large areas of the Pacific northwest. Similar losses are seen in other western states in the United States.
Beyond North America, Crown Rot is a particularly concerning disease in Australia. In the past three decades, Crown Rot has become the disease of greatest relative importance in the northern grain producing regions of Australia. Overall, it is only second to Septoria blotch in terms of its economic impact to wheat. Experts believe that the recent surge in Crown Rot prevalence in Australia is most likely resulting from cereals being growing in closer rotations and stubble retention practices becoming more prevalent. Furthermore, in seasons where environmental conditions permit, Crown Rot can decrease wheat yield by up to 100% in Australia and up to 65% in North America.
Aside from the disease-induced crop loss, Crown Rot is also significant due to the toxicity of infected wheat. As noted above, DON is produced by F. pseudograminearum during disease development. DON has been showed to be toxic to both humans as well as animals after they inject the infected crop. In some European nations, the government has put out regulatory guidelines suggesting that DON's total daily intake should not exceed 1μg/kg. Therefore, the combination of yield loss and diseased crop toxicity makes Crown Rot a extremely important disease for global food supply.
Read more about this topic: Fusarium Pseudograminearum
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