Effect of foliar-applied elemental sulphur on Fusarium infections in barley

Infection of cereals by Fusarium species is critical as Fusarium head blight yields regularly contamination of grains with mycotoxins, which is a serious threat to food safety. The efficacy of fungicides against Fusarium head blight is not complete and no alternative agro-technical measure proved to be adequate on its own to control infections by the pathogen, too. Elemental sulphur is a well-proven fungicide against various plant diseases. This is probably the first time that the effect of repeated elemental sulphur application on ear infections by Fusarium culmorum after artificial inoculation of the pathogen has been studied under field conditions. Macroscopic symptoms of Fusarium head blight were first visible 25 days after inoculation. Infection with F culmorum had no influence on infection severity at any time. Weekly foliar applications of elemental sulphur from the start of anthesis yielded a reduction of the infection rate with Fusarium head blight by up to 32 %. Under high infection pressure, the application of elemental sulphur resulted in 13 % higher grain yields. The effectiveness of elemental sulphur proved to be comparable to other agro-technical measures.