Moniliformin in barley inoculated with Fusarium avenaceum

To assess production of the mycotoxin moniliformin, inoculation trials with four barley cultivars and local isolates of Fusarium avenaceum were performed at two different experimental farms in southern Manitoba, Canada, during 1997-99. In the 1997 study, moniliformin was detected in 11 of 16 barley rows at levels between 0.19 and 1.62 mg g(-1), and F. avenaceum infection ranged from 10 to 57% in rows where the toxin was detected. In the 1998 study, moniliformin was detected in only three of 16 barley rows, with levels between 0.06 and 0.43 mug g(-1), and F. avenaceum infection between 16 and 39%. In the 1999 study, moniliformin was detected in 11 of 16 barley rows with levels between 0.09 and 0.42 mug g(-1), and F. avenaceum infection between 37 and 76%. In the 1997 trial, moniliformin was found in a single water-inoculated control row at 0.15 mug g(-1). The data suggest that in years of high rainfall and F. avenaceum infection, moniliformin is likely to be found in Manitoba barley.