A Status Update on Fusarium Head Blight on Western Canadian Wheat

Fusarium head blight (FHB) is a devastating disease of wheat in Canada and disease surveillance is a critical component of integrated disease management, disease forecasting, prioritizing research and breeding efforts, grain handling, and cleaning post harvest. We report on the recent trends of FHB in Canadian wheat including incidence and severity from 1995 to 2021 based on data from 208,247 samples. Our results show a steady increase in FHB incidence from 1995, with an epidemic year in 2016, followed by several years of low incidence. Results also indicated that FHB severity has been stable over time, but not always correlated with incidence. Data from the analysis of 26,538 samples from 2018 to 2021 demonstrate a strong positive correlation between the number of <i>Fusarium</i>-damaged kernels (severity) and concentrations of the mycotoxin deoxynivalenol. Together, our results provide the most robust survey of FHB in Canada to date, which complement national and international disease monitoring and management efforts.

小麦赤霉病（Fusarium head blight, FHB）是加拿大极具破坏性的小麦病害，而病害监测是综合病害管理、病害预测、科研与育种工作优先级制定、粮食储运及产后清选的核心环节。本研究基于208247份样本数据，报告了1995年至2021年加拿大小麦赤霉病的最新流行趋势，涵盖发病率与病害严重程度两项指标。研究结果显示，自1995年起小麦赤霉病发病率呈稳步上升态势，2016年为暴发年份，随后连续多年维持在较低水平。研究同时发现，赤霉病的病害严重程度随时间推移保持相对稳定，但并不总是与发病率存在相关性。通过对2018年至2021年间的26538份样本进行分析，数据表明镰孢属（Fusarium）侵染籽粒的数量（即病害严重程度）与真菌毒素脱氧雪腐镰刀菌烯醇（deoxynivalenol）的浓度呈显著正相关。综上，本研究成果为目前加拿大最为全面的赤霉病调查研究，可为国内及国际的病害监测与防控工作提供重要支撑与补充。