Screening of Fungicides and Comparison of Selective Media for Isolation of Fusarium graminearum from Soil and Plant Material

The culture media recommended for the isolation and enumeration of the Fusarium spp. lack selectivity for Fusarium graminearum. Five fungicides—Amistar(®) (250 g·L(−1) azoxystrobin), Filan(®) (500 g·kg(−1) boscalid), Comet(®) 200 (200 g·L(−1) pyraclostrobin), Imtrex(®) (62.5 g·L(−1) fluxapyroxad), Poraz(®) (450 g·L(−1) prochloraz)—were investigated for their potential as selective inhibitors in culture media for the isolation of F. graminearum from soil and plant material. Based on the screening, fluxapyroxad was further tested for selective inhibition for the isolation of F. graminearum from soil. Additionally, selective media were compared for the isolation of F. graminearum from plant material. The fungicides tested did not prove to be effective inhibitors for the development of selective media. For the detection of F. graminearum in plant material, Czapek Dox propiconazole dichloran agar was found to be a better medium than Komada’s media, as the former resulted in colonies with darker pigmentation over a shorter incubation time and appeared to have a less inhibitory effect on F. graminearum growth.