8th INTERNATIONAL WHEAT CONFERENCE

BIoCoNTRoL of fuSARIum heAd BLIghT IN WheAT
uSINg ACm941-Cu, A foRmuLATed PRoduCT of
CLoNoSTAChyS RoSeA STRAIN ACm941
A. G. Xue, Y.H. Chen, H. D. Voldeng, G. Fedak,
and M. E. Savard.
Eastern Cereal and Oilseed Research Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. 960 Carling
Avenue, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0C6, Canada
E-mail Address of presenting author: allen.xue@agr.gc.ca
Fusarium head blight (FHB) caused by Gibberella zeae (syn. Fusarium graminearum), is a
distructive disease of wheat in Canada. Previous studies demonstrated that Clonostachys
rosea strain ACM941 was an antagonist against G. zeae. The objective of this research
was to evaluate the efficacy of ACM941-CU, a formulated product of ACM941, on the
reduction of perithecial production and control of FHB in comparison to registered fungicide
Folicur ® (tebuconazole). When applied to corn, soybean, and wheat residues in
two separate field trails in 2009, ACM941-CU reduced the daily perithecial reproduction
over a period of 42 days by an average of 90% on corn, 90% on soybean, and 71% on
wheat. These effects were better but not significantly different from tebuconazole in the
same trials. Five concentrations of ACM941-CU, ranging from 10 4 8
to 10 CFU/mL, were
tested for the control of FHB in two greenhouse trials and in a FHB nursery in 2009.
All the concentrations significantly reduced the FHB severity. ACM941-CU at 10 8
CFU/
mL was the most effective treatment, reducing the area under the disease progress curve
(AUDPC) by 79%, infected spikelets (IS) by 30%, and Fusarium damaged kernels (FDK)
by 91% in the greenhouse experiments. Under the field conditions, ACM941-CU at 108 CFU/mL significantly reduced the AUDPC by 43%, FHB index by 52%, IS by 45%, and
FDK by 43%. These effects were less but not significantly different from those achieved
tebuconazole, which reduced AUDPC by 44%, FHB index by 70%, IS by 59%, and FDK
by 50%. Results of this study suggest that ACM941-CU is a promising biocontrol product
and may be used for managing FHB in wheat.
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