Development of eyespot and brown foot rot in wheat plants inoculated with mixtures of Pseudocercosporella herpotrichoides types and Fusarium species

The effects of Fusarium avenaceum, F. culmorum and Microdochium nivale on eyespot development, and of types of the eyespot fungus, Pseudocercosporella herpotrichoides, on brown foot rot caused by the Fusarium or Microdochium spp. were investigated by sequential inoculation of wheat plants grown in pots in a controlled environment. The W-type of the eyespot fungus induced more severe disease than the R-type. but its symptoms were suppressed to a greater extent by Fusarium spp., especially F. avenaceum. Brown foot rot symptoms were sometimes suppressed by P. herpotrichoides but were occasionally more severe when the Fusarium inoculum was applied after the P. herpotrichoides. The results are discussed in relation to observations of natural infections.