The effects of nitrogen rates and intercropping on the occurrence of Fusarium spp. on barley kernels
¹ Estonian Crop Research Institute, Department of Plant Protection, J. Aamisepa 1, 48309, Jõgeva, Estonia
² Aalborg University, Department of Chemistry and Bioscience, Fredrik BajersVej 7H, 9000 Aalborg, Denmark
³ Estonian Crop Research Institute, Department of Agrotechnology, J. Aamisepa 1, 48309, Jõgeva, Estonia
⁴ Estonian University of Life Sciences, Institute of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Kreutzwaldi ⁵, 51014 Tartu, Estonia
5University of Vienna, Department of Food Chemistry and Toxicology, Währinger Straβe 38, 1090, Wien, Austria
*Correspondence: elina.akk@etki.ee
Abstract:
The aim of the field experiments was to compare the effect of nitrogen rates and intercropping on the occurrence of Fusarium spp. in barley kernels. The experiments were performed in Central Estonia (58 ̊33´N, 25 ̊34´E) in 2009 and 2010. The composition of fungi in spring barley kernels was found through isolation and subsequent sequence analyses of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region and morphological features. During the study, 13 species of micro-fungi were identified in the grain samples. The most common species of fungi found in barley were Fusarium avenaceum, Fusarium poae, as well as Phoma pinodella. The compositions of pathogenic fungi on Estonian barley kernels were affected by the level of nitrogen fertilization and growing on barley-pea intercropping. The study showed tendencies that barley-pea intercropping had fewer occurrences of Fusarium species than sole barley.
Key words:
Fusarium spp., intercropping, nitrogen rates, spring barley