CONTEXT

The effective control of Fusarium head blight (FHB) in wheat, mainly caused by the toxigenic fungus Fusarium graminearum, has a significant impact on food safety worldwide. As maize is one of the main hosts of F. graminearum, the risk of infection by this plant pathogen is highest when wheat is grown after maize and infected crop residues are not buried through ploughing.

OBJECTIVES

This study aimed to investigate the agronomic and economic viability of two innovative cropping systems with the goal to reduce the risk of FHB and mycotoxins in subsequent wheat. These systems were maize-intercropping and cover cropping with different plant species before the wheat growing season under reduced tillage practices.

METHODS

For the maize-intercropping study, red clover, sudangrass, phacelia, white mustard and Indian mustard were used as intercrops with grain maize and compared with a sole maize crop in a grain maize-winter wheat rotation under no-tillage or reduced tillage. For the cover cropping study, white mustard, Indian mustard and winter pea were used as interval cover crops in a silage maize-spring wheat rotation under no-tillage and compared with treatments without a cover crop, i.e. herbicide or plough applied after silage maize. The incidence of Fusarium head blight causing species and the accumulation of mycotoxins in grains of wheat as well as the crop yield were monitored. In addition, an economic assessment was conducted by calculating the receipts, operating costs and gross margin for each cropping system.

RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS

Growing intercrops with maize or interval cover crops in a maize-wheat rotation under reduced tillage decreased mycotoxins in wheat while maintaining wheat yield. The use of white mustard or Indian mustard as intercrops reduced deoxynivalenol in winter wheat by up to 52% compared with maize grown as a sole crop. The use of white mustard, Indian mustard or winter pea as interval cover crops also reduced deoxynivalenol and improved yield in spring wheat by up to 85% and 25%, respectively. Remarkably, the toxin reduction through these cover crops was comparable with that obtained by ploughing. However, due to increased operating costs, we observed economic trade-offs in these innovative cropping systems, i.e. 7–25% reduced gross margin over the entire rotation.

SIGNIFICANCE

Both cereal growers and consumers can benefit from the recommended practices, which considerably lower the risk of mycotoxin contamination in harvest products while maintaining crop yield. To address the economic trade-offs, policy makers should support innovation in cropping systems, enhancing food safety while also ensuring the economic viability of cereal production systems.

中文翻译：

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减少小麦赤霉病和相关真菌毒素的创新种植系统的农艺和经济可行性

语境

小麦赤霉病（FHB）的有效防治，主要由产毒真菌禾谷镰刀菌引起，对世界范围内的食品安全产生重大影响。由于玉米是禾谷镰刀菌的主要宿主之一，当小麦在玉米之后种植且受感染的作物残留物未通过耕作掩埋时，被这种植物病原体感染的风险最高。

目标

本研究旨在调查两种创新种植系统的农艺和经济可行性，目的是降低后续小麦中 FHB 和真菌毒素的风险。这些系统是在小麦生长季节之前在减少耕作措施下与不同植物物种进行玉米间作和覆盖作物。

方法

在玉米间作研究中，红三叶草、苏丹草、白芥菜、白芥菜和印度芥菜被用作与谷物玉米的间作，并在免耕或减耕的谷物玉米-冬小麦轮作中与单一玉米作物进行比较。对于覆盖作物研究，白芥菜、印度芥末和冬豌豆在免耕下青贮玉米-春小麦轮作中用作间隔覆盖作物，并与没有覆盖作物的处理进行比较，即在青贮玉米后施用除​​草剂或犁。对引起镰刀菌枯萎病的物种的发生率和小麦籽粒中真菌毒素的积累以及作物产量进行了监测。此外，还通过计算每个种植系统的收入、运营成本和毛利率来进行经济评估。

结果和结论

在减少耕作的情况下，在玉米-小麦轮作中与玉米或间隔覆盖作物种植间作减少了小麦中的霉菌毒素，同时保持了小麦产量。与作为单一作物种植的玉米相比，使用白芥末或印度芥末作为间作可将冬小麦中的脱氧雪腐镰刀菌烯醇减少多达 52%。使用白芥末、印度芥末或冬豌豆作为间隔覆盖作物也减少了脱氧雪腐镰刀菌烯醇并使春小麦的产量分别提高了 85% 和 25%。值得注意的是，通过这些覆盖作物减少的毒素与通过犁耕获得的毒素减少相当。然而，由于运营成本增加，我们观察到这些创新种植系统的经济权衡，即在整个轮作期间毛利率降低了 7-25%。

意义

谷物种植者和消费者都可以从推荐的做法中受益，这大大降低了收获产品中霉菌毒素污染的风险，同时保持了作物产量。为了解决经济权衡问题，政策制定者应支持种植系统的创新，提高食品安全，同时确保谷物生产系统的经济可行性。