Importance for DON Reduction
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Deoxynivalenol (DON) is a mycotoxin that can be produced in wheat and barley when the crop is infected by Fusarium head blight (scab). Elevated levels of DON reduce the quality and market value of the crop.
Scab infects grain heads when wet weather or simply moist soil occurs during the flowering and grain filling stages of plant development. Early occurring scab infections can reduce yields by causing sterility of flowers (fewer kernels) and by the formation of shrunken, chalky white or discolored scabby kernels commonly called ‘tombstones’. Kernels infected late in their development may be normal in size and show little or no visible damage but still have elevated levels of DON. The majority of the DON is present in the seed coat or bran in wheat. For the flour miller, infected kernels may reduce flour quality or require screening to remove the damaged kernels. The screening process adds costs to the miller and the removed material has little value.
Using Prosaro fungicide can help fight the effects of scab when used at appropriate application timings. For wheat, apply at Feekes 10.51 and for barley, apply at Feekes 10.5. Planting wheat varieties that have some level of resistance to scab will complement the use of Prosaro to help manage this destructive disease
