Diseases

Fusarium head blight of oats

Avena sativa L.

A fungal disease of oats caused by a complex of Fusarium species, characterized by a latent course without pronounced symptoms on the panicles and the risk of mycotoxin accumulation in the grain.

In the reference 29 varieties crop Oat, where this is mentioned in the description.

The pathogens of Fusarium infection in oats are predominantly fungi of the species Fusarium poae, Fusarium sporotrichioides, Fusarium langsethiae, Fusarium avenaceum, and Fusarium culmorum. The disease often follows a latent course: unlike other cereal crops, pink sporulation is extremely rare on oat panicles, even under severe infection, which makes visual diagnosis difficult.

The infection can manifest as root rot, browning of the coleoptiles and the lower part of the stem, as well as grain shriveling. Resistance of oats to the disease is quantitative and is controlled by quantitative trait loci (QTLs) responsible for mycotoxin accumulation and infection intensity. Clearly defined resistance genes are not used in crop breeding, and sources of resistance are often associated with the genetic material of wild species, such as Avena sterilis.

General information about the subject — on the page Fusarium wilt and blight.

Sources8

Varieties of Oat mentioned in the description

Selection based on the description text, not on official evaluation: these data are absent from registers. For specific variety details, please refer to its profile.