The fungus Fusarium graminearum makes toxins that harm wheat kernels. By Erik StokstadWheat scab hits farmers with a double punch.
The fungal disease, also known as Fusarium head blight, shrivels grain and can significantly dent harvests of wheat and barley.
Worse, the toxins released by the fungus Fusarium graminearum, a growing problem in the breadbaskets of Europe, North America, and China, remain in grain intended for food.
Above legal limits, they can harm people and animals. Grain from infected plants must be discarded in many countries, although some allow blending with uninfected grain.Fungicides are no panacea, in part because the pathogen infects during wet weather, when the chemicals wash away.