Fusariumand zearalenone on herbage fractions from short and from long pasture

摘要

Fusarium macroconidiaand the oestrogenic mycotoxin zearalenone were monitored on bulk herbage and dissected out green and dead material from plots of short and long pasture for 8 weeks from March to May. The most commonly recoveredFusariumspp., from both short and long pasture, wereF. avenaceum, F. culmorum, andF. semitectum. Macroconidium counts were high on dead material, lower on bulk herbage, and very low on green material. During March and April counts were significantly higher on dead material from short pasture than from long pasture. Zearalenone concentrations were not significantly higher on dead material than on bulk herbage but for the first 4 weeks of the sampling period, there was significantly more zearalenone in bulk herbage from short pasture than from long, whether from the short and long plots or from areas of short and long growth within the plots.