Effect of fungicide and foliar fertilizer application to winter wheat at anthesis on flag leaf senescence, grain yield, flour bread-making quality and DON contamination

In this study, field experiments have been conducted over three growing seasons to evaluate the effect of fungicides (triazoles and strobilurins) and a foliar fertilizer application to winter wheat at anthesis on flag leaf senescence, grain yield, bread-making quality, Fusarium Head Blight (FHB) disease and deoxynivalenol (DON) contamination. Flag leaf greenness was significantly influenced by the fungicide application. A delay in flag leaf senescence following triazole use did not increase grain yield. No effects of fungicide application on protein concentration were recorded. The application of strobilurin to a triazole programme did not significantly delay senescence of the flag leaf or increased yield, compared to the triazole-only application, while a consistent benefit was observed for dough strength (W). The triazole application led to significantly lower FHB symptoms and DON contamination, while the triazole-strobilurin fungicides programme led to an increase in DON contents, that were often higher than the untreated controls. Grain yield and quality were improved when a foliar feed containing macro- and micro-nutrients was added to a triazole fungicide programme, with no additional risk for DON contamination. Compared to the strobilurin fungicide application, the foliar fertilizer led to a longer delay of the flag leaf senescence and higher bread-making quality.