Assessment of Resistance of Different Varieties of Winter Wheat to Leaf Fungal Diseases in Organic Farming

Paweł Radzikowski (), Krzysztof Jończyk, Beata Feledyn-Szewczyk and Tomasz Jóźwicki
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Paweł Radzikowski: Department of Systems and Economics of Crop Production, Institute of Soil Science and Plant Cultivation—State Research Institute in Puławy, 24-100 Puławy, Poland
Krzysztof Jończyk: Department of Systems and Economics of Crop Production, Institute of Soil Science and Plant Cultivation—State Research Institute in Puławy, 24-100 Puławy, Poland
Beata Feledyn-Szewczyk: Department of Systems and Economics of Crop Production, Institute of Soil Science and Plant Cultivation—State Research Institute in Puławy, 24-100 Puławy, Poland
Tomasz Jóźwicki: Department of Agrometeorology and Applied Informatics, Institute of Soil Science and Plant Cultivation—State Research Institute in Puławy, 24-100 Puławy, Poland

Agriculture, 2023, vol. 13, issue 4, 1-21

Abstract: A change in agricultural policy in the European Union aims, among other things, to halve the use of pesticides and increase the share of organic farming to 25% by 2030. One of the challenges associated with this target will be the control of plant fungal diseases. The key methods in organic farming include the selection of less susceptible crop varieties. In order to test this method, a long-term trial of organic farming in Eastern Poland was established. In total, 41 different winter wheat varieties were grown from 2018 to 2022 and their resistance to fungal leaf diseases was monitored. Brown rust was found to be the disease causing the highest infestation towards the end of vegetation, often exceeding 80% of the flag leaf area. However, yield reductions were mainly related to the severe occurrence of leaf Septoria. Other leaf diseases such as tan spot, yellow rust, powdery mildew, and fusariosis were of little importance and only occurred at low infestations of Septoria and brown rust. The course of the weather was found to have a significant effect on disease incidence. Drought occurring in May and June significantly increased the incidence of brown rust and Septoria, while prolonged rains increased tan spot and Fusarium infestation. Greater overall infestation occurred in years with high average temperatures. Ten varieties with high resistance to foliar fungal diseases were selected and can be recommended for organic farming.

Keywords: organic farming; fungal diseases; winter wheat (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

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