New Discovery Helps Keep Fusarium Head Blight at Bay
Four yeasts and three bacteria that live on flowering wheat heads, but cause no harm there, have been patented by USDA as biological control agents in the fight against Fusarium head blight.
Compiled by staff
Published: Jul 28, 2006
Four yeasts and three bacteria that live on flowering wheat heads, but cause no harm there, have been patented by USDA as biological control agents in the fight against Fusarium head blight.
Caused by the fungus Fusarium graminearum, FHB is among the most costly diseases of cereal crops worldwide, including wheat, barley and oats. From 1998 to 2000, FHB epidemics in U.S. small grains inflicted an estimated $2.7 billion worth of losses, notes David Schisler, Agricultural Research Service plant pathologist.
The fungus infects wheat through its flower tissues, including anthers. But competition for space and nutrients there is fierce, according to studies by Schisler and his colleagues. Indeed, some of the bacteria and yeasts that the researchers isolated from wheat anthers secrete antibiotics, or use other means, to keep the fungus at bay - to the wheat plant's benefit.
To exploit this "natural antagonism," Schisler and OSU colleagues Michael Boehm and Naseem Khan devised fermentation procedures to culture quantities of the beneficial microbes for application to flowering wheat heads. The four yeasts and three bacteria that have been patented (U.S. No. 7,001,755) were the "top picks" from about 700 microbial specimens the scientists evaluated for their fungus-fighting prowess. Of these seven, yeast strain OH 182.9 performed the best in field trials, reducing FHB's severity in spring, winter and durum wheats by 20 to 60%.
USDA's patenting of this approach to controlling FHB is a critical first step towards garnering the commercial interest necessary to develop the microbes as registered biological control products that can be used separately or in specific combinations on wheat or other cereal crops. Their development, along with more FHB-resistant wheat varieties, is especially appealing because the use of foliar fungicides is complicated by timing and availability by state.
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Tagged: wheat, usda, barley
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