Fusarium species in wheat grown from head blight infected seed

The objectives of this preliminary study were to identify Fusarium species associated with wheat seed obtained from head blight infected fields and to determine whether the causal organism(s) of head blight could colonise plants systemically from infected seed. Six Fusarium spp. were isolated from grain samples of the cultivar Palmiet. Fusarium graminearum comprised 48.4% of the isolates, F. moniliforme 36.3%, F. equiseti 9.7%, F. chlamydosporum 3.2%, F. subglutinans 1.6%, and F. oxysporum 0.8%. No systemic colonisation of roots, culms, leaves or heads of plants grown from infected seed was observed for any of these species. Fusarium equiseti, F. graminearum, and F. oxysporum were, however, isolated from surface-sterilised crowns. Fusarium graminearum was also isolated from 0.9% of seeds from which the embryos failed to emerge, and from 3.9% of blighted seedlings.