Fusarium spp. Mycotoxin Production, Diseases and their Management: An Overview

Abstract

In total, more than 1.5 million fungal species exist in the world, amongst them pathogenic species can attack plants at different stages causing considerable damage amounting to millions of rupees. One of the plant pathogenic fungi is Fusarium spp. Fusarium species are very well-known soil-inhabiting fungi that cause many economically important diseases of crops.Many species are included in the Fusarium genus, which are not only pathogenic to plants but also cause different diseases in humans and livestock.Apart from diseases, one of the most dangerous characteristics of this fungus is the ability to produce dangerous secondary toxic metabolites, which are commonly known as mycotoxins. Some of the important toxins produced by different species of Fusarium are fumonisins and trichothecenes.Fusarium species are present around the world and have a very wide host range including many economically important species of crops and plants. Most of the plant diseases are caused by F. solani, F. oxysporum and F. graminearum. Fusarium species can infect grains in storage, but they are more prevalent in the field where they cause infection in crops and then may invade grains and cause infection in storage. Different methods including chemical, cultural, and biological control strategies are employed to control this fungus. In this review, mycotoxin production, characterization, identification, and different economically important diseases associated with Fusarium species as well as their control are discussed in detail.