Prevention of Fusarium head blight infection and mycotoxins in wheat with cut-and-carry biofumigation and botanicals

Fusarium head blight (FHB) is a devastating fungal disease of wheat worldwide causing yield losses and grain contamination with mycotoxins that jeopardise food and feed safety. Field experiments using mulch layers or botanicals were conducted in two consecutive years to investigate prevention measures with the potential to suppress FHB and reduce mycotoxins in wheat. We simulated a system with high disease pressure, i.e. maize-wheat rotation under no-tillage, by applying maize residues artificially inoculated with Fusarium graminearum in field plots after wheat sowing. For mulch layers, a novel cut-and-carry biofumigation approach was employed. Cover crops grown in separate fields were harv…