Incidence of eyespot on winter triticale and quantification of Oculimacula spp. population using real-time PCR in Lithuania

The aim of this study was to estimate the incidence of eyespot in winter triticale crops in different agro-ecological zones of Lithuania and to use real-time polymerase chain reaction (Real-time PCR) to determine the dominant Oculimacula fungi populations in winter triticale crops grown in Lithuania, which has not been previously established. Differences in common fungicide usage practices in triticale crops between Lithuanian agro-ecological zones suggest that the composition of Oculimacula fungi differs across the country. From 2008 to 2012, a total of 70 winter triticale fields were reviewed for eyespot incidence, and the presence of eyespot was identified in 93.5% of the fields tested. Over this five-year period, the disease incidence averaged 32%. The highest incidence (34.8%) of eyespot was found in the Middle Lowland zone of Lithuania, the lowest (25.8%) was in the Eastern zone and an intermediate incidence (30.2%) was observed in the Western zone. During the 2010–2012 period, Oculimacula acuformis was the most prevalent Oculimacula spp. in the majority of triticale crops inspected. Only in 3 cases out of 27 was the amount of Oculimacula yallundae DNA higher than that of O. acuformis. According to our results, the incidence of eyespot in triticale varied greatly and could be of economic importance in some fields. The predominance of O. acuformis over O. yallundae is an important consideration in the choice of fungicides for eyespot control.