F. moniliforme and other species of Liseola section, F. culmorum, F. dlamini, and F. nygamai, were examined for their ability to produce gibberellic acid (GA3), fumonisins, trichothecenes, zearalenone, moniliformin, and bikaverin (TLC method). Gibberellic acid was produced by F. moniliforme strains in liquid medium and on rice kernels with a maximum concentration level of 470 mg/dm3 and 1 g/kg, respectively. No strain isolated in Poland produced GA3. High-yielding gibberellic acid strains produced neither trichothecenes and fumonisins nor other tested compounds. Also the rest of strains of examined species did not produce trichothecenes and other mycotoxins except for fumonisins which were found in rice cultures of F. moniliforme, F. proliferatum, and F. subglutinans. Bikaverin was produced by F. moniliforme always together with fumonisins. Filtrates of liquid cultures of gibberellin producing strains were tested for their toxicity to brine shrimps larvae (Artemia salina). It was found that GA3 presence does not increase toxicity of these filtrates.

Nivalenol and fusarenone-X accumulation in kernels of 12 corn genotypes inoculated with Fusarium poae was analysed during 1994 and 1995. All kernels with visible symptoms of scab were contaminated with nivalenol and fusarenone-X at the average concentration level of 1.34 and 1.17 mu g/g, respectively. Healthily looking kernels were free of detectable amounts of the metabolites. In 1995 average susceptibility to fusariosis and accumulation of the toxins were lower than in 1994. During both seasons the highest concentration of nivalenol with high level of fusarenone-X was observed in fraction of kernels with visible symptoms of the disease of Smolimag genotype which seems to be susceptible to infection with the pathogen and the metabolites accumulation.

Fifty‐three commercially grown cultivars and germplasm lines of winter triticale (n = 18), wheat (n = 13), and rye (n = 5) and spring triticale (n = 8), wheat (n = 7) and rye (n = 2) were inoculated at mid anthesis with a spore suspension consisting of a mixture of Fusarium culmorum, Fusarium avenaceum and Fusarium graminearum isolates of known toxinogenic activity. Reactions to Fusarium head blight were measured as disease severity, reductions of kernel number/head, kernel weight/head and 1000 kernel weight, number of Fusarium‐damaged kernels and kernel content of deoxynivalenol (DON) and its acetyl‐derivatives 3‐AcDON, 15‐AcDON, and moniliformin. None of the cereal genotypes was completely resistant to Fusarium head blight. Wheat suffered from the largest kernel weight reductions, and accumulated the largest amounts of deoxynivalenol (up to 39.5 mg/kg) and 3AcDON (up to 6.0 mg/kg) in kernels. Deoxynivalenol was not detected in grain samples of winter rye cv. Dańkowskie Z?ote, and spring rye cv. Ludowe. 15‐AcDON was only detected in genotypes of triticale, and 3AcDON only in a few genotypes of winter wheat and rye. Moniliformin was detected at low concentrations (up to 0.092 mg/kg) in kernels of some genotypes selected for the mycotoxin analysis. A moderately strong Pearson correlation was found between head blight severity parameters and the accumulation of deoxynivalenol and its derivatives in grain of the cereal genotypes studied. Fusarium head blight severity parameters were correlated with the percentage of Fusarium‐damaged kernels and reductions of yield components. However, some head blight‐susceptible genotypes realized their potential yields, but accumulated high levels of mycotoxins in kernels. Both Fusarium head blight resistant and susceptible genotypes of the three cereal species accumulated deoxynivalenol in kernels. This finding suggests that the system regulating deoxynivalenol accumulation may be independent of Fusarium head blight reaction.

Maize ears naturally infected withF. graminearum (6 samples) andF. crookwellense (6 samples) were collected in 1990 and 1991. All samples exhibited symptoms of severe ear rot with high percentage ofFusarium damaged kernels. Thousand kernels weight ranged 108.5 – 235.0g and was significantly lower than in control, not infested kernels (330g). All ears were contaminated withFusarium toxins but DON and NIV were the most frequently analyzed metabolites. Distribution of trichothecene mycotoxins in different parts of ear as well as toxicity of extracts toArtemia salina is reported in this paper.

Toxicity toA. salina, of the Fusarium metabolites: deoxynivalenol (DON), its acetylated derivatives (3- and 15-AcDON), zearalenone (ZON), neosolaniol (NEO), nivalenol (NIV), T-2, HT-2 toxins, has been examined and compared with toxicity of extracts of barley kernels (8 cultivars and 4 lines) inoculated withFusarium culmorum, F. graminearum andF. sporotrichioides respectively. Estimated LC50 values were expressed as relative toxicity (RT) in mg DON/kg for samples inoculated withF. culmorum, F. graminearum or in mg T-2/kg forF. sporotrichioides inoculations.

This paper is concerned with the biosynthesis of a high yield of mycotoxin ascochitine by a Ascochyta pisi strain ATCC 66101 on solid substrate with a description of the subsequent procedure of extraction, purification and crystallization. Spectroscopic, chromatographic and antibiotic properties of the mycotoxin are reported.

Strains of fungi isolated from pulse crops: pea (Pisum sativum) and faba beans (Vicia faba) plants with symptoms of Ascochyta blight, footrot and stems lesions have been examined under laboratory conditions for their ability to produce ascochitine and metabolites toxic toArtemia salina. BothAscochyta pisi Lib and Ascochyta fabae LK Jones isolates formed ascochitine in yields of 20–480mg/kg. The highest yield of ascochitine was produced on rice and the lowest on maize grain.

The amount of diacetoxyscirpenol (DAS) produced by 14 isolates ofFusarium sambucinum under laboratory conditions has been examined. The isolates were obtained from potato tubers with dry rot symptoms. Yields of DAS ranged from 20 to 330 mg/kg of wheat grain culture (chemical analysis -TLC). Chemical analysis and biological tests showed very similar results.

Extracts of the followingFusaria cultures, isolated from cereals were examined for toxicity to Artemia salina:F. avenaceum (6 isolates),F. crookwellense (7),F. graminearum (11),F. nivale (5) andF. Sporotrichioides (2). The same cultures, growing on wheat grain, were assayed also mycotoxins presence using TLC method. Most toxic were found cultures ofF. Sporotrichioides and results of bioassay was similar to results of their TLC analysis. We found cultures of newly described speciesF. Crookwellense to be more toxic than cultures ofF. Graminearum.