Influence of Inoculation Method on Systemic Fusarium moniliforme Infection of Maize Plants Grown from Infected Seeds

Area of Science:

• Plant Pathology
• Mycology
• Agricultural Science

Background:

• Fusarium moniliforme is a significant pathogen affecting maize.
• Understanding infection pathways is crucial for disease management in maize.

Purpose of the Study:

• To quantify maize kernel infection incidence from systemic Fusarium moniliforme infection.
• To compare the effectiveness of seed versus silk inoculation methods.

Main Methods:

• Experiments utilized spray-inoculation of silks and soak-inoculation of seeds.
• Maize plants were grown from infected seeds in greenhouse and field conditions.
• Systemic infection was determined by vegetative compatibility of recovered Fusarium isolates.

Main Results:

• Fusarium moniliforme was recovered from stalks and kernels of plants grown from infected seeds.
• Field-infected seeds resulted in higher kernel infection rates compared to laboratory-infected seeds.
• Silk inoculation led to significantly higher kernel infection rates and reduced infection by the seed-inoculated strain.

Conclusions:

• Seed infection by Fusarium moniliforme leads to systemic plant and kernel infection.
• Local infection via silks is a more critical route to kernels than systemic infection.
• Strains infecting silks compete effectively against those entering through systemic development.