The effects of different fungicides in four-year trials with a susceptible variety of spring barley, which was grown in field conditions with two previous crops (sugar beet and corn) and artificially inoculated with spores of Fusarium, were investigated. Field trials were laid down in plots of the Agricultural Research Institute Kroměříž, Ltd. (235 m above sea level, average annual temperature 8.7°C, annual precipitation sum 599 mm) in 2000-2003. The variety Kompakt, which was very sensitive to Fusarium head blight (FHB) in other trials, was used in all the trials examined. Incidence and severity of FHB and control with fungicides were measured by deoxynivalenol (DON) contamination of grain and malt. The content of Fusarium trichothecenes was evaluated in one fraction of kernels (diameter 2.5 mm) which is used in malting technology process. In 2000 and 2001, the treatments without adjuvants were applied. In the following two years, Silwet L-77 adjuvant (0.1 l/ha) was used with different rates of water (250 and 150 l/ha in 2002 and 2003, respectively). In all years, DON content increased in most cases a�er the grain samples were malted. The conditions of high grain moisture, moderate temperature and high relative humidity provide an ideal environment for Fusarium growth during germination. The greatest reduction of mycotoxins was achieved using a combination of azole fungicides with tebuconazole or metconazole or a mixture of metconazole + famoxadone + flusilazole with the addition of Silwet L-77 and a low rate of water.

During 2010–2012, we monitored flight activity of male and female stem weevils (Ceutorhynchus napi, C. pallidactylus) using yellow water traps, the effectiveness of various application dates for the insecticide thiacloprid (72 g active ingredient/ha), and the influence on yield. The first occurrence of beetles in traps was recorded after soil temperature at 5 cm reached 8°C in all experimental years. In all years, males of C. pallidactylus dominated in the traps and the times of beetles’ first occurrence. The most effective applications of thiacloprid at the stated rate were 14 days (2010), 6 days (2011), and 1 day (2012) after peak flight. Females with eggs appeared in bowls in 2010 and 2012 at first flight, while in 2011 no females were recorded. After the most effective applications, yields increased significantly in 2010 (+5% vs. the control) and in 2011 (+4%), and insignificantly in 2012 (+2%).

Spitzer T., Spitzerová D., Matušinský P., Kazda J. (2014): Possibility of using seed treatment to suppress seed-borne diseases in poppy. Plant Protect Sci., 50: 78-83.In experiments using Petri dishes in the laboratory and pots in a greenhouse and climate chamber, we examined the influence of seed treatment on emergence of poppy. Four types of fungi (alternaria spp., Dendryphion penicillatum, Fusarium spp., and penicillium spp.) were detected on poppy seeds, with the highest infection rate being 72% for D. penicillatum. Surface disinfection decreased infection rate chiefly in D. penicillatum (by 32%) and in alternaria spp. (by 16%). Seed treatment increased emergence by 9-10% in laboratory experiments but by only 0-6% in greenhouse experiments. Temperature plays an important role in emergence. In climate chamber experiments at a stable temperature of 12°C, the seed treatments increased emergence by 8-16%.

The objective of the study was to design a prediction model for eyespot (Tapesia yallundae) infection based on climatic factors (temperature, precipitation, air humidity). Data from experiment years 1994-2002 were used to study correlations between the eyespot infection index and individual weather characteristics. The model of prediction was constructed using multiple regression when a separate parameter is assigned to each factor, i.e. the frequency of days with optimum temperatures, humidity, and precipitation. The correlation between relative air humidity and precipitation and the infection index is significant