Interaction between Fusarium head blight and crown rot disease incidence and cultural practices on wheat in the south of Iraq, Basra province.

Background: This study was conducted to estimate Fusarium head blight (FHB) and crown rot (FCR) disease incidence on wheat and their interaction with cultural methods (cultivar types, planting time, seed rate, crop rotation, and fertilizer practices) that are used in wheat cropping system in the south of Iraq, Basra province. Results: The results showed that the mean average of FHB and FCR was 27.2% and 31%, respectively. This displays that very nearly one-third of wheat crop planted in those 14 fields were infected by both diseases but not very severely, except in two fields (D and HM), which were devastating, 54% and 71% and 41% and 52% for FHB and FCR, respectively. The highest level of incidence for both diseases was associated with the earlier and latest planting dates 28 Oct. and 10 Dec., while the lowest was with 1, 10, and 23 Nov. A 200 and 120 kg/ha were the highest and lowest seed rates used in this study. The selected wheat fields differed in their pre-crop rotations (legume, corn, sorghum, okra, and continuous cropping system of wheat) in a previous year. The amount of added fertilizers (urea, DAP, and NPK) to the studied fields was in a high variation. The seven wheat cultivars examined in this study showed different levels of susceptibility to both diseases. Conclusion: The results verified that most of the agricultural practices examined in this study were associated with positive correlation for FHB and FCR in the occurrence of disease incidence. Except the cultivar type and fertilizer application had unclear relationship with the incidence of both diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]