Amy D. Wilson, Frederic L. Kolb, Eric A. Brucker, and D.G. Bullock. University of Illinois, 1102 S. Goodwin Ave., Urbana, IL 61801
Glyphosate [N-(phosphonomethyl)-glycine] is a broad-spectrum, non-selective, post-emergence herbicide used to control weeds in agricultural production systems. The application of glyphosate prior to wheat planting has been reported to be associated with increased Fusarium head blight incidence in the wheat crop. Wheat frequently follows soybeans in crop rotations; therefore, it is important to determine the effect of glyphosate on fungal communities. The objectives of this study were to: 1) determine the effect of glyphosate on mycelial growth of Fusarium graminearum (causal organism for Fusarium head blight, or wheat scab) and six other common soil microorganisms and 2) determine the effect of glyphosate on macroconidia production by F. graminearum. Three isolates of F. graminearum were tested in addition to six randomly selected isolates of common soil fungal organisms. Mycelial growth was measured daily on the isolates grown on PDA amended with different concentrations of glyphosate. Macroconidia production was evaluated by growing F. graminearum in CMC liquid media for five days and counting the number of macroconidia produced. Both F. graminearum mycelial growth and macroconidia production were significantly reduced by the 1 X concentration (recommended field rate) of glyphosate. Mycelial growth was also significantly reduced at the 1 X glyphosate concentration for all other fungal species evaluated.
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