Effect of the Intensity of Weed Harrowing with Spike-Tooth Harrow in Barley-Pea Mixture on Yield and Mycobiota of Harvested Grains

Abstract

Harrowing is one of the most popular mechanical methods to control weeds. Nevertheless, the relationship between the effect of different harrowing intensities using spike-tooth harrow in barley-pea intercrop on the yield and mycoflora of grains has not yet been studied. Therefore, the aim of this study was to assess the effect of harrow intensity using spike-tooth harrow in barley-pea mixture on the mycological quality of harvested grains, grain yield, as well as influence of barley and pea grain moisture on the abundance of fungi. The field experiment was carried out during 2010–2012, and it was conducted using a randomized complete block design with four replicates. Weed control was mechanical and chemical. In this study, we have shown that harrowing in barley-pea intercrops does not reduce the yield of either mixture components, both with respect to grain quantity or mycological quality after harvest, compared to controls—without harrowing and the herbicide MCPA (2-methyl-4-chlorophenoxyacetic acid). However, increasing the intensity of harrowing did not result in a consistently larger crop yield or reduction in fungal abundance in the grains. The grains’ internal structures and surface of both tested components of the mixture were colonized to a large extent by cosmopolitan fungi, of which Alternaria alternata (Fr.) Keissl. was the most abundant.

<i>Fusarium oxysporum</i> as a Pathogen of Pot Plants: a Case Study of the Easter Lily Cactus (<i>Echinopsis oxygona</i>) in Poland

“…The production of various secondary metabolites, as well as the ability to co-exist with other species enable Fusarium to infect various plants [31]. The infection might occur at any stage of plant development, from germinating seeds to mature vegetative tissue, and physical damage enhances the probability of infection [32].…”

Species Diversity of Micromycetes Associated with Epipactis helleborine and Epipactis purpurata (Orchidaceae, Neottieae) in Southwestern Poland

“…Plant species are very often associated with a characteristic fungal community. Nevertheless, other factors also determine the composition of the mycobiota inhabiting the plants, e.g., type of method used for the mycological analysis (culture-based analysis or molecular techniques), geographical location and the prevailing conditions in the habitat [5,49,50].…”

“…Using both morphological culture-dependent and PCR-based methods, we identified three species of the genus Fusarium (F. oxysporum, F. sporotrichioides and F. tricinctum). These fungi are cosmopolitan species and belong to the so-called soil-borne fungi [5,56]. However, they are widely recognized as pathogenic, but they may also have other functions in ecosystems, e.g., Fusarium can inhabit the rhizospheres of plants well as act as an endophyt.…”

“…They are an important component of the biocenosis of many ecosystems because they allow their proper functioning. Fungi can function as parasites, saprotrophs or symbionts of plants and animals [2][3][4][5][6]. It seems that pathogenic and symbiotic fungi are particularly important for many plants, such as orchids, among others [7,8].…”