Effect of lodging on the level of mycotoxins in wheat, barley, and rice infected with the Fusarium graminearum species complex

Lodging is one possible risk factor that leads to increased cereal mycotoxin contamination, but few reports have been published on the subject. We examined the effects of lodging on the level of deoxynivalenol (DON) and nivalenol (NIV) contamination in wheat, barley, and rice infected with the Fusarium graminearum species complex. Case-control and intervention studies were applied to test the hypothesis that lodging increases the level of mycotoxin contamination. A total of 66 grain samples were collected from each field in 12 Japanese prefectures from 2002 to 2006. Each sample set consisted of grains from lodged and nonlodged plants. The concentration of DON + NIV in lodged plants was significantly higher than in nonlodged plants. All samples of wheat and barley were contaminated with DON and NIV; however, most of the lodged rice samples were contaminated only with NIV. In intervention trials to investigate the effects of lodging duration, a small area of wheat inoculated with the pathogen was completely lodged by trampling. Even with 5 days of lodging, the levels of DON + NIV in wheat grain at harvest increased by 27-51% compared to nonlodged control plots. For rice, half of each plot area was completely lodged by trampling 20 days before harvest. The level of NIV in lodged rice grain was significantly higher than that in nonlodged rice at optimum and delayed harvests, because lodging significantly increased the level of Fusarium mycotoxins in the three crops. Thus, practices (e.g., rational use of fertilizers) to avoid lodging should reduce the risk of mycotoxin contamination. This is the first epidemiological study on the effect of lodging on mycotoxin production by the F. graminearum species complex in wheat, barley, and rice.