Session V – Effective Pest (Pathogen, Insect, Weeds) Management – Poster V-9
Current Status of Oat FHB in Eastern Canada
Weikai Yan1*, Judith Fregeau-Reid1, Sylvie Rioux3, Lily Tamburic-Ilincic4, Richard Martin5, Denis Pageau2, Julie Lajeunesse2, Brad de Haan1, Marc Savard1, and Allen Xue1
1Eastern Cereal Crops Research Center (ECORC), Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC), 960 Carling Ave., Ottawa, Ontario Canada K1A 0C6. 2Soils and Crops Research and Development Centre, Research Farm, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC), 1468 St-Cyrille, Normandin, Quebec Canada G8M 4K3. 3Centre de recherche sur les grains (CÉROM), 2700 rue Einstein, Québec City, Québec Canada G1P 3W8.
4University of Guelph, Ridgetown Campus, 120 Main St. E., Ridgetown, Ontario, N0P 2C0. 5AAFC, 440 University Ave, Charlettotown, PEI.
*Corresponding author ()
Abstract
Although oat has been regarded as a cereal crop free from Fusarium Head Blight (FHB) damage, FHB damage has been occasionally reported. To investigate the severity and extent of the FHB problem in oats in eastern Canada, several studies have been conducted in Ontario, Quebec, and the Maritimes since 2003. Here we summarize the results obtained from these studies. 1) Oat is indeed much less susceptible to FHB compared with barley and wheat. 2) Under successful inoculations, all tested oat varieties were susceptible to FHB although in varying degrees. The DON level could be up to 24 ppm for some varieties under FHB-prone conditions. 3) Some oat varieties are consistently more resistant to FHB than others, as indicated by their DON levels under inoculated field conditions. CDC Dancer was among the most resistant, whereas Robust among the most susceptible, varieties. 4) Naked oats tended to produce less DON than covered oats. 5) For covered oats, de-hulling can remove 68 to 94% (averaged 86%) of the DON, and the DON level was reduced to less than 1 ppm for most varieties, suggesting that FHB is not a serious problem for milling oats even under severe FHB pressure. 6) Survey of commercial fields in Ontario in 2006 and 2007 indicated that the DON level in oats was consistently lower than 1 ppm. Survey in the Maritimes showed that the DON level under natural conditions was as high as 3 ppm at one site in New Brunswick but it was generally lower than 1 ppm. This suggests that oat is still a “safe” crop in term of FHB in natural conditions in eastern Canada. And 7) Monitoring FHB in oat has become part of the oat testing protocol in eastern Canada. Starting from 2006, samples from oat performance trials across Ontario have been regularly monitored for DON level. Starting from 2003, oat varieties entering the registration and recommendation trials in Quebec have been tested for FHB resistance under inoculated field conditions.