Fusarium culmorum is a principal causal agent of root, crown, and foot rot disease in the wheat-growing areas of Turkey. The effects of different fertilization practices, fungicide sprays, and cultivar reactions of 12 wheat varieties were investigated for disease development in greenhouse conditions in 2006–2007. | Turkish Journal of Agriculture and Forestry Research Article Turk J Agric For (2016) 40: 101-108 © TÜBİTAK doi: Effect of wheat cultivars, fertilizers, and fungicides on Fusarium foot rot disease of wheat Davut Soner AKGÜL*, Ali ERKILIÇ Plant Protection Department, Agriculture Faculty, Çukurova University, Sarıçam, Adana, Turkey Received: Accepted/Published Online: Final Version: Abstract: Fusarium culmorum is a principal causal agent of root, crown, and foot rot disease in the wheat-growing areas of Turkey. The effects of different fertilization practices, fungicide sprays, and cultivar reactions of 12 wheat varieties were investigated for disease development in greenhouse conditions in 2006–2007. The fertilizers used in the experiments significantly reduced disease by – compared to the nonfertilized control. The plants fertilized with calcium ammonium nitrate (26% N) or composite NPK (15%, 15%, 15%) showed fewer disease symptoms than those fertilized with NPK (20%, 20%, 0%) in the presowing applications. On the other hand, foot rot severity was lower with ammonium nitrate (33% N) than urea (46% N) when applied as a supplement in the 25th and 45th growth stages of the Zadoks scale. Furthermore, fungicide sprays and seed dressing treatments also decreased foot rot symptoms. Seed treatment with tebuconazole lowered disease severity in the subcrown internode compared to the control and it was overall the most effective fungicide with efficacy. When plants were sprayed with fluquinconazole, tebuconazole, or epoxyconazole + carbendazim (two times at Zadoks growth stages 31 and 45), disease severity decreased by , , and , respectively. In the cultivar reaction tests, no stable or considerable tolerance was observed in the 12 wheat varieties against foot rot. It may be concluded from this study that fertilizer forms and fungicide .
