Stubble trouble! Moisture, pathogen fitness and cereal type drive colonisation of cereal stubble by three fungal pathogens

Abstract

Stubble-borne cereal diseases are a major constraint to production in Australia, with associated costs rising as a result of increased adoption of conservation agriculture systems. The fungal pathogens that cause these diseases can saprotrophically colonise retained cereal residues, which may further increase inoculum levels post-harvest. Hence, saprotrophic colonisation by the stubble-borne fungal pathogens <i>Fusarium pseudograminearum</i>, <i>Pyrenophora tritici-repentis</i> and <i>Bipolaris sorokiniana</i> were compared under a range of moisture conditions for stubble of six cereal varieties (two bread wheat, two barley, one durum wheat and one oat). Sterile cereal stubble was inoculated separately with two isolates of each pathogen and placed, standing, under constant relative humidity conditions (90, 92.5, 95, 97.5 and 100%) for 7 days at 25 °C. Stubble was then cultured in increments of 1 cm to determine the percentage colonisation height of each tiller. <i>Fusarium pseudograminearum</i> colonised farther within tillers, leaving a greater proportion of the standing stubble colonised compared with <i>B. sorokiniana</i> and <i>P. tritici-repentis</i>, suggesting <i>F. pseudograminearum</i> has higher saprotrophic fitness. Saprotrophic colonisation also increased with increasing relative humidity for all pathogens and varied by cereal type. Disease management strategies, such as reduced cereal harvest height, may limit saprotrophic colonisation and improve stubble-borne disease management in conservation agriculture systems.