Effects of patulin and method of application on growth stages of wheat.

When a single, 100-mug/ml application of patulin, produced by Penicillium urticae Bainier, was applied to growth stages 7, 9, 10, and 10.1 (Feekes scale) of Lee spring wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), decreases in internodal elongation, floret number, seed weight, and seed number were observed. Yields were reduced according to the proximity of application prior to heading. Application of patulin to the soil in crystalline form and dissolved in aqueous solution were also investigated, and the solution method of application was found to be the treatment of choice. A single exposure of growing wheat plants to patulin can produce yield reductions similar to those observed in stubble-mulch farming.