Cereal leaf beetles (Oulema spp., Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) control following various dates of wheat sowing and insecticidal treatments

In this paper, we report the sowing date and intensity of chemical control on presence of the cereal leaf beetles (CLB) on spring wheat. The CLB monitoring (Oulema melanopus L. and Oulema gallaeciana Voet.) was conducted in May–June of each year, following the announcement of the IOR-PiB in Poznań (Institute of Plant Protection, National Research Institute), that economic threshold levels in Poland of this pest is observed. For the spring sowing dates between (20 March–20 April) and late autumn sowings (21 November–7 December) larger amounts of CLB adults (1.6–1.1) in comparison to early autumn sowings (25 October–02 November) were noticed (0.4). Following the insecticidal seed treatment with imidacloprid, the occurrence of adults was 0.2–0.7 individual per stem, while the use of fungicidal treatment with triadimenol–imazalil–fuberidazol resulted in average 1.1–2.2 individual per stem. The reduction in the number of larvae per stem was 7–10 fold larger following the foliar application (pirimicarb + dimethoate + cypermethrin) compared to the seed treatment with imidacloprid. The lowest grain yield (3.83 t ha^?1) from the spring crop without any insecticide was obtained. Foliar application with blend of pirimicarb + dimethoate + cypermethrin increased the yield crop by 0.41 t ha^?1 (10.7%) and additionally by 0.78 t ha^?1 (20.4%) to compare to the fungicidal control when imidacloprid was used. Wheat seed treatment with imidacloprid and sowing date in autumn showed to be suitable and economically efficient preventive strategies for controlling the pest population.     

Evaluation of hybrid and population cultivars on standard and high-input technology in winter oilseed rape

The problem raised here is the intensification of technology in field crops of winter oilseed rape. Is there a justification for this by explaining what relationship between the yield and individual yielding traits are formed in hybrid and population cultivars. During years 2012–2015 field studies to evaluate five hybrid and five population cultivars response on the standard and high-input technology in winter oilseed rape production have been executed in Poland. High-input technology included: double foliar application (in autumn, and in spring) of micro-nutrients, additional top fertilisation of 40?kg N per ha in spring, double application of the amino-acid bio-stimulators, and additional growth regulator. According to the principle component analysis made for both technologies it was found that hybrids and population cultivars displayed varied response which is explained here on the basis of morphological, growth, and yield elements. The high-input technology improved the yield responded elements e.g. number of siliques and number of seeds per silique as well as winter hardiness. This impact was more evident for population cultivars than for hybrids. We state that high-input technology, as the proposal in this paper, that provided 9.6% increase in seed yield, is biologically justified for winter oilseed rape crop and can be recommended in North and central European countries.     

Risk assessment posed by diseases in context of integrated management of wheat

Journal of Plant Diseases and Protection - Three strict field experiments (2010–2013) were conducted at the Experimental Station of Cultivar Testing in Chrząstowo in Poland...     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">Fusarium</Emphasis> head blight incidence and detection of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Fusarium</Emphasis> toxins in wheat in relation to agronomic factors

We investigated incidences of Fusarium head blight (FHB) and concentrations of six mycotoxins (deoxynivalenol, nivalenol, 3-acetyldeoxynivalenol, T-2 toxin, HT-2 toxin and zearalenone) in wheat from 2010 to 2013. Field trials were conducted at the Experimental Station of Cultivar Testing in Chrz?stowo, Poland (53^o11’N, 17^o35’E). We examined the effects of four agronomic factors, including pre-crop type (corn, sugar beets and wheat), date of sowing (late autumn: November 8–December 9 or spring: March 29–April 19), fungicidal application (untreated or treated with two applications) and cultivar (Monsun, Cytra), on FHB index (FHBi) and mycotoxin levels in order to minimize the risk of wheat grain contamination by mycotoxins via integrated pest management methods. The dominant Fusarium species observed on wheat heads were F. culmorum, F. avenaceum (Gibberella avenacea) and F. graminearum (Gibberella zeae), at 21.1%, 17.2% and 7.1%, respectively. A monthly rainfall sum of 113.9 mm and a relatively low air temperature (monthly average 15.5 °C) resulted in the highest FHBi in untreated wheat (25.1%). Agronomic factors crucial for the FHB incidence were the pre-crop, fungicidal treatments and cultivar selection. In wheat planted after wheat or corn, the FHBi was higher compared with a pre-crop of sugar beet. A double application of fungicides at BBCH 30–32 with prothioconazole and spiroxamine and at a BBCH 65 with fluoxastrobin and prothioconazole effectively reduced the FHBi and mycotoxin concentrations, respectively, in grain. The cultivar ‘Cytra’ had a greater FHBi (10.4%) than ‘Monsun’ (4.6%), and grain infestations by Fusarium species were also greater in ‘Cytra’, at 16.5%, than in ‘Monsun’, at 11.2%. Untreated cv. Cytra grown after corn in spring produced grains with the highest amounts of the mycotoxins, deoxynivalenol, 3-acetyldeoxynivalenol, zearalenone and HT-2 (605, 103, 17.5 and 5.53 μg/kg, respectively). Total mycotoxin levels in wheat were correlated with five determinants: duration of the period between the end of flowering and the beginning of kernel abscission, FHBi, F. culmorum isolation, G. zeae isolation and Fusarium ratio (FR) as a % of total mould isolations. Although, the mean concentration of mycotoxins in grain did not exceed the maximum permissible values for unprocessed wheat our study suggests necessity to monitor and mitigate FHB risk for susceptible cultivars, when wheat spring sowing follows corn or wheat.     

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from cereal plants infested with crown rot: their identity and their capacity for inducing production of VOCs in uninfested plants

When infested with Fusarium sp., the cereals Triticum aestivum L. emend. Fiori et Paol. cv. ‘Bombona’, Avena sativa L. cv. ‘Deresz’, and Hordeum vulgare L. cv. ‘Rastik’ can emit volatile organic compounds (VOCs). The VOCs differ both qualitatively and quantitatively from those emitted by non-infested wheat, oat, and barley plants. We detected increased amounts of VOCs released by green leaves (green leaf volatiles – GLVs): (Z)-3-hexenal, (E)-2-hexenal, (Z)-3-hexen-1-ol, (E)-2-hexen-1-ol, (Z)-3-hexen-1-yl acetate, 1-hexyl acetate as well as the other VOCs like (Z)-ocimen, linalol, linaloloxide, benzyl acetate, indole, and β-caryophyllene. The lipoxygenase pathway resulted in the highest release of GLVs in comparison to the other biochemical pathways of volatile production. As a result of Fusarium infestation, the amounts of VOCs varied between tested cereals. We also subjected uninfested wheat, barley, and oat plants to infested wheat plants, and found that these cereals released larger amounts of VOCs compared to control plants. Emitted amounts of VOCs were significantly higher the shorter the distance between uninfested and infested plants.