Study on the Mechanism of Benziothiazolinone and Its Synergistic Effect with Tebuconazole in Inhibiting Fusarium asiaticum and DON Production

Fusarium head blight (FHB), caused by the Fusarium graminearum species complex, is a devastating disease of wheat and other cereal crops. This study investigates the antifungal mechanism of the novel fungicide benziothiazolinone (BIT) against Fusarium asiaticum (Fa) and its synergistic effect with tebuconazole (TB). BIT could inhibit NADH and ATP production and lead to mitochondrial fragmentation, thereby inhibiting the mycelial growth of Fa. Besides, BIT mixing with TB at 1:1 showed an obvious synergistic effect against Fa based on mycelial growth and could significantly inhibit reactive oxygen species and DON productions, toxisome formation, as well as the expression of DON biosynthesis-related genes tri1, tri5, and tri6. In addition, field experiments showed that BIT mixing with TB exhibited 77.63% efficacy in FHB control and 51.92% efficacy in DON contamination. Taken together, this study highlights the synergistic effects of BIT and TB in FHB control and toxin management.