Optimizing Fungicide Seed Treatments for Early Foliar Disease Management in Wheat Under Northern Great Plains Conditions

Tan spot (<i>Pyrenophora tritici-repentis</i>) and stripe rust (<i>Puccinia striiformis</i> f. sp. <i>tritici</i>) are major foliar diseases of wheat, causing significant yield losses globally. This study evaluated the efficacy of fungicide seed treatments in mana...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Collins Bugingo, Shaukat Ali, Dalitso Yabwalo, Emmanuel Byamukama
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-01-01
Series:Agronomy
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4395/15/2/291
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1850081447395721216
author Collins Bugingo
Shaukat Ali
Dalitso Yabwalo
Emmanuel Byamukama
author_facet Collins Bugingo
Shaukat Ali
Dalitso Yabwalo
Emmanuel Byamukama
author_sort Collins Bugingo
collection DOAJ
description Tan spot (<i>Pyrenophora tritici-repentis</i>) and stripe rust (<i>Puccinia striiformis</i> f. sp. <i>tritici</i>) are major foliar diseases of wheat, causing significant yield losses globally. This study evaluated the efficacy of fungicide seed treatments in managing these diseases during early growth stages under greenhouse, growth chamber, and field conditions in the Northern Great Plains. Winter and spring wheat cultivars were treated with pyraclostrobin or combinations of thiamethoxam, difenoconazole, mefenoxam, fludioxonil, and sedaxane, among others. Greenhouse and growth chamber plants were inoculated with the respective pathogens, while field trials relied on natural inoculum. Fungicide treatments significantly reduced stripe rust severity (up to 36%) (<i>p</i> ≤ 0.05) and moderately reduced tan spot severity during early growth stages (15–20%). Treated plants demonstrated a 30–40% improvement in plant vigor, and a 25–50% increase in winter survival. Additionally, grain yield in treated plots increased by 25–50% (<i>p</i> ≤ 0.05), with test weight and protein content improving by 10% and 15%, respectively. These findings demonstrate the potential of fungicide seed treatments as an integrated pest (or pathogen) management (IPM) strategy to enhance early foliar disease control and wheat productivity.
format Article
id doaj-art-157ebee3c5b84ccbbc78a6f42464b4cf
institution DOAJ
issn 2073-4395
language English
publishDate 2025-01-01
publisher MDPI AG
record_format Article
series Agronomy
spelling doaj-art-157ebee3c5b84ccbbc78a6f42464b4cf2025-08-20T02:44:43ZengMDPI AGAgronomy2073-43952025-01-0115229110.3390/agronomy15020291Optimizing Fungicide Seed Treatments for Early Foliar Disease Management in Wheat Under Northern Great Plains ConditionsCollins Bugingo0Shaukat Ali1Dalitso Yabwalo2Emmanuel Byamukama3Crop and Soil Science Department, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97377, USADepartment of Agronomy, Horticulture and Plant Science, South Dakota State University, Brookings, SD 57007, USADepartment of Agronomy, Horticulture and Plant Science, South Dakota State University, Brookings, SD 57007, USADepartment of Agronomy, Horticulture and Plant Science, South Dakota State University, Brookings, SD 57007, USATan spot (<i>Pyrenophora tritici-repentis</i>) and stripe rust (<i>Puccinia striiformis</i> f. sp. <i>tritici</i>) are major foliar diseases of wheat, causing significant yield losses globally. This study evaluated the efficacy of fungicide seed treatments in managing these diseases during early growth stages under greenhouse, growth chamber, and field conditions in the Northern Great Plains. Winter and spring wheat cultivars were treated with pyraclostrobin or combinations of thiamethoxam, difenoconazole, mefenoxam, fludioxonil, and sedaxane, among others. Greenhouse and growth chamber plants were inoculated with the respective pathogens, while field trials relied on natural inoculum. Fungicide treatments significantly reduced stripe rust severity (up to 36%) (<i>p</i> ≤ 0.05) and moderately reduced tan spot severity during early growth stages (15–20%). Treated plants demonstrated a 30–40% improvement in plant vigor, and a 25–50% increase in winter survival. Additionally, grain yield in treated plots increased by 25–50% (<i>p</i> ≤ 0.05), with test weight and protein content improving by 10% and 15%, respectively. These findings demonstrate the potential of fungicide seed treatments as an integrated pest (or pathogen) management (IPM) strategy to enhance early foliar disease control and wheat productivity.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4395/15/2/291tan spotstripe rustseed treatmentwheatfungiearly foliar diseases
spellingShingle Collins Bugingo
Shaukat Ali
Dalitso Yabwalo
Emmanuel Byamukama
Optimizing Fungicide Seed Treatments for Early Foliar Disease Management in Wheat Under Northern Great Plains Conditions
Agronomy
tan spot
stripe rust
seed treatment
wheat
fungi
early foliar diseases
title Optimizing Fungicide Seed Treatments for Early Foliar Disease Management in Wheat Under Northern Great Plains Conditions
title_full Optimizing Fungicide Seed Treatments for Early Foliar Disease Management in Wheat Under Northern Great Plains Conditions
title_fullStr Optimizing Fungicide Seed Treatments for Early Foliar Disease Management in Wheat Under Northern Great Plains Conditions
title_full_unstemmed Optimizing Fungicide Seed Treatments for Early Foliar Disease Management in Wheat Under Northern Great Plains Conditions
title_short Optimizing Fungicide Seed Treatments for Early Foliar Disease Management in Wheat Under Northern Great Plains Conditions
title_sort optimizing fungicide seed treatments for early foliar disease management in wheat under northern great plains conditions
topic tan spot
stripe rust
seed treatment
wheat
fungi
early foliar diseases
url https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4395/15/2/291
work_keys_str_mv AT collinsbugingo optimizingfungicideseedtreatmentsforearlyfoliardiseasemanagementinwheatundernortherngreatplainsconditions
AT shaukatali optimizingfungicideseedtreatmentsforearlyfoliardiseasemanagementinwheatundernortherngreatplainsconditions
AT dalitsoyabwalo optimizingfungicideseedtreatmentsforearlyfoliardiseasemanagementinwheatundernortherngreatplainsconditions
AT emmanuelbyamukama optimizingfungicideseedtreatmentsforearlyfoliardiseasemanagementinwheatundernortherngreatplainsconditions