Poster: Biology & Disease Mgmt: Biological Control
203-P
Effects of seed coating "inert ingredients" in the pathogenicity of Fusarium graminearum in soybean.
K. Navarro (1) (1) The Ohio State University, U.S.A.
Fusarium graminearum, known to infect wheat, barley, corn, and other cereal crops has also been reported to cause seedling rot, root rot and pre- post emergence, damping off of soybean. Application of fungicides and other bioactive molecules are often combined with an “inert” ingredient such as sugar polymer dextrans as a seed coat to control seedling pathogens. Our study aims to investigate the effects of maltodextrin seed coating on the virulence of F. graminearum in soybean. Five soybean cultivars with different levels of resistance were coated with maltodextrin and inoculated with a microconidia suspension in a roll—towel assay. Our study demonstrates that maltodextrin coated soybean seeds had increase susceptibility to F. graminearum. Treated seedlings grew less vigorously in soil than non-treated seedlings. To address if fungal growth rates increased in the presence of maltodextrin, water agar plates amended with maltodextrin were prepared. Fungi grew faster in the presence of maltodextrin and exhibited a change in color as compared to non-amended water agar plates. Further experiments testing to address whether maltodextrin and other related sugar polymers used in seed coatings can affect fungal growth and toxin production are underway. Our study provides information about the potential for unintended adverse effects of specific “inert” ingredient in the formulation of seed coatings.