Stubble Management Practices and the Survival of Fusarium Graminearum Group 1 in Wheat Stubble Residues

The influence of stubble management practices on survival of Fusarium graminearum Group 1 in wheat stubble residues of cultivars Kite and Suneca was examined over a two-year period. Stubble was retained on the soil surface at two rates, incorporated by a rotary hoe or buried in nylon bags. F. graminearum Group 1 was recovered after 104 weeks from stubble which was retained or incorporated. In contrast, burial of the stubble residues was inimical to survival of the fungus which was recovered at very low levels from buried stubble after only 8 weeks and not recovered at all after 104 weeks. Survival of the fungus was closely correlated with decomposition rate of the wheat stubble. There was a tendency for the decline in the recovery of F. graminearum Group 1 to be more rapid in buried stubble of cultivar Kite than in buried stubble of cultivar Suneca.