Can picoxystrobin protect winter wheat from environmental stress?

摘要

Strobilurin fungicides have been used in cereals in the UK for six years, and have activity against a number of important cereal fungal diseases. They have also been reported to affect crop physiology resulting in enhanced yield by prolonged greeningand reduced appearance of stress symptoms. These effects may be a result of increased disease control or a direct interaction between the fungicide and the physiology of the crop plant. We investigated the physiological consequences of picoxystrobin treatment in the presence of environmental stressors. Drought, temperature, light, nitrogen and sulphur availability were investigated in winter wheat cv. Claire under experimental conditions in the glasshouse and in growth cabinets. Initial data suggest that physiological stress symptoms are ameliorated in picoxystrobm-treated plants. In the absence of any obvious crop disease, these observations indicate a direct interaction between picoxystiobin and crop physiology, especially with respect to chlorophyll content.