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SESSION 5: DISEASE CONTROL AND FORECASTING MODELS
P122 - Distribution of the airborne inoculum of
Gibberella zeae in Belgium
G. Dedeurwaerder 1 , M. Duvivier 2 , P. Hellin 1 , M.-E. Renard 1 , V. Van Hese 1 , A.
Legrève 1
1 Université catholique de Louvain – Earth and Life Institute, Applied Microbiology, Phytopathology,
Croix du Sud 2, box L7.05.03, B-1348 Louvain-la-Neuve ; 2 Walloon Agricultural Research Centre,
Plant Protection and Ecotoxicology Unit, Rue du Bordia 11, B-5030 Gembloux, Belgium
Email: geraldine.dedeurwaerder@uclouvain.be
Fusarium head blight (FHB) is a common fungal disease in winter wheat in
Belgium, causing yield losses and sanitary problems due to the production of
mycotoxins by species associated with the disease. Fusarium graminearum
(teleomorph Gibberalle zeae), one of the most important species involved in the
species complex causing FHB, is able to produce wind-dispersed ascospores by
sexual reproduction. In order to analyse the distribution of G. zeae airborne
inoculum throughout the year, particularly between heading and flowering, and to
understand the role of this inoculum in the infection of the wheat ears, a network
of Burkard spore traps was set up in fields in the Walloon region in Belgium in the
2011-2012 growing season. Total DNA from each fragment of spore trap tape,
corresponding to 1 day of sampling, was extracted and the quantity of G. zeae
was assessed using a real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay. Initial
results showed the occurrence of G. zeae airborne inoculum between heading
and flowering. The relationship between the distribution of the inoculum and the
prevalence of G. zeae on infected ears collected in fields was studied in order to
assess whether spore traps, coupled with real-time PCR, could be used to
improve the understanding of FHB epidemiology, the prediction of this disease
and the control strategies.
Keywords: Fusarium head blight, spore trap, wheat
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