Sustainable management of fungal diseases by new biological control agents and natural compounds for healthy 1 and safe wheat production in Southern Italy

Sustainable management of fungal diseases by new biological control agents and natural compounds for healthy 1 and safe wheat production in Southern Italy | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Sustainable management of fungal diseases by new biological control agents and natural compounds for healthy 1 and safe wheat production in Southern Italy Morea Maria Grazia, Conte Thomas, Ricciardi Gaetana, Raimondo Maria Luisa, and 2 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-7092558/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Wheat cultivation in Apulia, Southern Italy, plays a crucial role in Italian agriculture. Over the last few years, wheat crops have suffered a decrease due to problems related to climate change, such as lack of rainfalls, prolonged periods of drought, and increasing average temperatures. These factors have significantly affected the production and quality of cereals. The use of fungicides and synthetic fertilizers has impoverished the fertility and natural repressiveness of soils. For these reasons, farmers are required by the European Community to preserve soil health through conservation practices such as no-tillage and eco-friendly control means. This study aims to highlight the high presence of mycotoxin-producing fungi on both wheat kernels for human consumption and on tilled and un-tilled soil. The experiments carried out in laboratory, greenhouse and field proved that the microbiomes inside tilled and un-tilled soil are significantly rich in mycotoxin-producing fungi ( Alternaria , Aspergillus , and Fusarium species). A Streptomyces albidoflavus strain (CARA17), two plant waste products (bergamot and pomegranate), a resistance inducer, and four fungicides were able to reduce the fungal pathogens on plant tissues and kernels of wheat plants produced in greenhouse. The experiment performed in open field, by the resistance inducer, allowed us to demonstrate that the mycotoxin-producing fungi were significantly controlled in both un-tilled and tilled crops, and the yields and the quality of kernels were enhanced. This approach mitigates mycotoxicological risks for humans and livestock, in line with the 2030 Agenda's Sustainable Development Goals requesting all European Countries to transition towards a sustainable development model. Mycology Agronomy Food Science & Technology Wheat Fungi biological control sustainability mycotoxin risk Full Text Additional Declarations The authors declare no competing interests. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-7092558","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":483479362,"identity":"38702ea5-b52a-4c5f-b0be-0f22f712c5a8","order_by":0,"name":"Morea Maria Grazia","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of Foggia","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Morea","middleName":"Maria","lastName":"Grazia","suffix":""},{"id":483482216,"identity":"17fad2a0-4403-421b-b804-5501240f1b67","order_by":1,"name":"Conte Thomas","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of 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