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Early sowing and harvesting as effective measures to reduce stalk borer injury, Fusarium verticillioides incidence and associated fumonisin production in maize

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Abstract

Maize cultivation in Tanzania is hampered by the presence of maize stalk borer (Busseola fusca) and Fusarium verticillioides, causing ear, kernel and stalk damage. Furthermore, accumulation of fumonisin mycotoxins deteriorates grain quality. Optimized agronomic practices remain the primary line of defense against pests and diseases. Therefore, the aim of this study was to gain insight into the effects of hybrid, sowing and harvest date on injuries due to maize stalk borer, Fusarium verticillioides symptoms and fumonisin contamination in maize grown in Tanzania. The analyses of the data collected during two growing seasons (2013 and 2014) showed early sowing and early harvesting as important measures for minimizing these problems. Although the impact of hybrid was not always significant, the early maturing hybrid STUKA M1 was consistently less susceptible compared to the hybrid STAHA. Correlation analysis revealed that stalk borer injuries, Fusarium symptoms and fumonisin levels were positively associated. The associations between yield and stalk borer injuries, Fusarium symptoms and fumonisin levels were negative, indicating that besides the mycotoxin issues, the insect and fungal pathogen also contribute to yield losses.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful for the research funding provided by VLIR (ZEIN2011PR388). The technical support given during field and laboratory activities at Sokoine University of Agriculture (Tanzania), Tanzania Drugs Authority (Tanzania) and University of Ghent (Belgium) is highly appreciated.

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Author notes

  1. Richard Raphael Madege and Sofie Landschoot contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Crop Science and Horticulture, College of Agriculture, Sokoine University of Agriculture, P.O. Box 3005, Morogoro, Tanzania

    Richard Raphael Madege

  2. Department of Food Technology, Nutrition and Consumer Sciences, College of Agriculture, Sokoine University of Agriculture, P.O. Box 3005, Morogoro, Tanzania

    Richard Raphael Madege & Bendantukuka Tiisekwa

  3. Department of Data Analysis and Mathematical Modelling, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Valentin Vaerwyckweg 1, BE-9000, Ghent, Belgium

    Sofie Landschoot

  4. Department of Plants and Crops, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Valentin Vaerwyckweg 1, BE-9000, Ghent, Belgium

    Sofie Landschoot, Boris Bekaert, Kris Audenaert & Geert Haesaert

  5. School of Life Sciences, The Nelson Mandela African Institute of Science and Technology, P.O. Box 447, Arusha, Tanzania

    Martin Kimanya

  6. Department of Food Chemistry and Human Nutrition, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Coupure Links 653, BE-9000, Ghent, Belgium

    Bruno De Meulenaer

Authors
  1. Richard Raphael Madege
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Sofie Landschoot.

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Section Editor: Zhang Hao

Electronic supplementary material

Fig. A1

Effect of harvest date (H1, H2, H3), sowing date (S1, S2, S3, S4), and maize hybrid (STAHA, STUKA M1) on Fusarium stalk (a), ear (b) and kernel (c) rot during 2013. (PNG 40 kb)

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Fig. A2

Effect of harvest date (H1, H2, H3), sowing date (S1, S2, S3, S4), and maize hybrid (STAHA, STUKA M1) on Fusarium stalk (a), ear (b) and kernel (c) rot during 2014. (PNG 42 kb)

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Fig. A3

Effect of sowing date (S1, S2, S3, S4), and maize hybrid (STAHA, STUKA M1) on biomass of Fusarium verticillioides in maize kernels (pg DNA per g maize kernels) across two seasons (2013(a), 2014(b)). (PNG 52 kb)

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Fig. A4

Effect of harvest date (H1, H2, H3), sowing date (S1, S2, S3, S4), and maize hybrid (STAHA, STUKA M1) on total fumonisin (FB) content during 2013. (PNG 32 kb)

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Fig A5

Effect of harvest date (H1, H2, H3), sowing date (S1, S2, S3, S4), and maize hybrid (STAHA, STUKA M1) on total fumonisin (FB) content during 2014. (PNG 36 kb)

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Fig A6

Effect of harvest date (H1, H2, H3), sowing date (S1, S2, S3, S4), and maize hybrid (STAHA, STUKA M1) on maize yield (ton/ha) during 2013. (PNG 36 kb)

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Fig. A7

Effect of harvest date (H1, H2, H3), sowing date (S1, S2, S3, S4), and maize hybrid (STAHA, STUKA M1) on maize yield (ton/ha) during 2014. (PNG 35 kb)

High resolution image (TIFF 177 kb)

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Madege, R.R., Landschoot, S., Kimanya, M. et al. Early sowing and harvesting as effective measures to reduce stalk borer injury, Fusarium verticillioides incidence and associated fumonisin production in maize. Trop. plant pathol. 44, 151–161 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40858-018-0233-1

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