36
SEED TESTING INTERNATIONAL   www.seedtest.org
RULES DEVELOPMENT •
Validation Study for Detection of Fusarium Species 
on Cereal Seeds
Le Daré, L.1, Sérandat, I.1, McEwan, M.2, Brodal, G.3, Udnes Aamot, H.3, Isaksen, B.4 and Alberti, I.5
1GEVES, Beaucouzé, France
2SASA, Edinburgh, UK
3NIBIO, Ås, Norway
4KIMEN, Ås, Norway
5CREA – CI, Rovigo, Italy
THE SCOPE OF THE PRESENT STUDY 
WAS TO INTRODUCE A VALIDATED 
METHOD FOR THE DETECTION OF 
FUSARIUM SPECIES IN CEREAL SEEDS 
into Chapter 7 of the International Rules for Seed 
Testing (ISTA Rules). The validation of the method 
was conducted according to the validation 
criteria described in the document ‘TCOM-P-10-
Validation method and results of CTs, version 
2’. The aim of this validation was to provide a 
testing method for the detection of Fusarium 
species infecting the cereals wheat, barley and 
oat. The performance criteria were determined 
and evaluated and a comparative test (CT) with 
seven experienced laboratories was organised. 
The validation data was brought together in 
a validation report. This report was reviewed 
and approved by two ISTA technical reviewers, 
appointed by the ISTA Seed Health Committee: 
Ruud Barnhoorn and Marian McEwan. A 
statistical review was carried out by Jean-Louis 
Laffont of the ISTA Statistics Committee.
Introduction
Fusarium head blight (FHB) complex is mainly 
caused by several Fusarium species and is 
considered to be one of the most important 
diseases in cereals worldwide. The disease 
may result in significant yield losses and poor 
seed quality. Several of these Fusarium species 
can produce toxic secondary metabolites 
(mycotoxins) (Desjardins, 2006) that can reduce 
the use of the grain for human and/or animal 
consumption. For example, F. graminearum, 
one of the most aggressive pathogens of FHB 
and producer of the important mycotoxin 
deoxynivalenol (DON), was ranked number four 
in an international nomination of the top ten 
most economically important fungal pathogens 
(Dean et al., 2012).
When plated on different media, Fusarium 
species can present notoriously different 
phenotypes. It is therefore important to 
standardise the method and the media used 
within the laboratory and to ensure its make-up 
is consistent. Depending on the level of expertise 
of the laboratories, and for some Fusarium 
for which it is not possible to distinguish two 
different species based on the morphological 
criteria, the result can be given in species, 
complex or Fusarium sp. level (Fig. 1).
The Seed Health Committee decided to carry out 
a validation study for detection of Fusarium spp. 
on cereal seeds, based on the ISTA method 7-022 
for detection of Microdochium spp. on wheat 
(ISTA, 2020).
Figure 1. Process flow diagram explaining the steps and decisions for the detection of Fusarium spp. 
by plating on media and morphological identification (MA = malt agar, PDA = potato dextrose agar, 
SNA = spezieller nährstoffarmer agar, CLA = carnation leaf-piece agar); *Fusarium reporting results 
can be expressed as genus, part of a complex or as species level

View this content as a flipbook by clicking here.