<b>Influence of Bt and environmental factors on Fusarium ear rot in maize</b>

<i>Fusarium verticillioides </i>is responsible for Fusarium ear rot (FER) and fumonisin (FUM) in maize (<i>Zea mays</i> L.). Multiple factors, including drought stress, humidity, and insects, influence the severity of FER and FUM. This study aimed to assess the occurrence and severity of FER, FUM, and corn earworm (<i>Helicoverpa zea Boddie</i>) feeding in Bt and non-Bt maize grown on commercial farms in North Carolina. We attempt to identify important environmental factors specific to maize growth stages that contribute to FER and FUM. Two Bt<i> </i>and three non-Bt hybrids were sampled in 50 environments in North Carolina for FER and FUM under natural infection. Bt hybrids had 7.2% ear rot compared to 11.7% for non-Bt hybrids. For corn earworm feeding, Bt hybrids had 1.5 cm²per ear of feeding damage compared to 4.2 cm²per ear for non-Bt hybrids. Although differences in FUM were not significant, Bt hybrids had a numerically lower FUM than non-Bt hybrids. In some counties and years, the FUM levels exceeded those recommended for products intended for human and animal consumption, with the highest level recorded at 27.8 ppm in a non-Bt<i> </i>hybrid. We identified several environmental covariates related to FER, FUM, and corn earworm feeding. The results highlight the complexity of ear rots, mycotoxin, and insects and their interaction in maize. It also highlights a need for a larger sample size in multiple environments with adequate variation in FER, FUM, and insect feeding to tease apart factors influencing ear rots and mycotoxins.

<i>Fusarium verticillioides</i>（轮枝镰孢菌）是玉米（<i>Zea mays</i> L.）中镰孢穗腐病（Fusarium ear rot, FER）和伏马毒素（fumonisin, FUM）的致病因子。干旱胁迫、湿度和昆虫等多种因素会影响FER和FUM的严重程度。本研究旨在评估北卡罗来纳州商业农场种植的Bt玉米和非Bt玉米中FER、FUM的发生与严重程度，以及玉米穗虫（<i>Helicoverpa zea Boddie</i>）的取食情况。我们尝试确定玉米不同生长阶段特有的、对FER和FUM有影响的关键环境因素。在北卡罗来纳州的50个环境条件下，对2个Bt杂交种和3个非Bt杂交种进行了自然感染条件下的FER和FUM采样分析。Bt杂交种的穗腐病发生率为7.2%，而非Bt杂交种为11.7%。玉米穗虫取食方面，Bt杂交种每穗取食损伤面积为1.5 cm²，非Bt杂交种则为4.2 cm²。尽管FUM含量差异不显著，但Bt杂交种的FUM数值低于非Bt杂交种。在部分县份和年份中，FUM含量超过了人类和动物消费产品的推荐标准，其中非Bt杂交种的最高含量达27.8 ppm。我们确定了多个与FER、FUM及玉米穗虫取食相关的环境协变量（covariates）。研究结果凸显了玉米中穗腐病、霉菌毒素（mycotoxin）及昆虫之间的复杂性及其相互作用。同时也强调，需要在多个环境中扩大样本量，确保FER、FUM及昆虫取食情况具有足够的变异性，以区分影响穗腐病和霉菌毒素的因素。

搜集汇总

背景与挑战

背景概述

该数据集研究了Bt和非Bt玉米在环境因素影响下对玉米穗腐病（FER）和伏马菌素（FUM）的影响，基于美国北卡罗来纳州50个环境的田间实验数据。结果显示Bt杂交种在FER严重程度和玉米穗虫取食损伤方面显著低于非Bt杂交种，但FUM差异不显著；部分非Bt杂交种的FUM水平超过安全标准，强调了环境因素与病害、毒素及昆虫相互作用的复杂性。