Effects of Seed Treatment with Thiabendazole on Septoria Leaf Blotch and Growth of Wheat. D. Shtienberg, Department of Plant Pathology and Microbiology, Faculty of Agriculture, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, P.O. Box 12, Rehovot, 76100 Israel. . Plant Dis. 76:178-182. Accepted for publication 10 June 1991. Copyright 1992 The American Phytopathological Society. DOI: 10.1094/PD-76-0178.

Seed treatment with thiabendazole did not suppress development of Septoria leaf blotch (caused by Mycosphaerella graminicola) in wheat in two field trials, but yields were increased by 11.2 and 5.9%. In a third trial, no disease was detected and yields were increased by 24.4%. Plant density, number of heads per plant, and foliar growth of the plants were unaffected by the treatment. However, significantly more (P ? 0.05) roots were observed in plants from seed treated with thiabendazole than in plants from nontreated seed (5.2 more roots per plant, 32.5% increase). In controlled environment trials, thiabendazole application at the rate of 0.9 kg a.i./t decreased the number of primary roots per plant by 1.1 to 1.4 (20–23%), while increasing the number of adventitious roots per plant by 1.3 to 1.9 (31–39%).