Evaluation of Forecasting Models for Fusarium Head Blight of Wheat Under Growing Conditions of Quebec, Canada

Fusarium head blight (FHB) is a fungal disease of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) causing frequent economic losses to farmers under growing conditions of Eastern Canada. To assess risks associated with this disease and guide fungicide use decisions, many researchers from numerous countries have developed weather-based forecasting models. This work aims at evaluating which model produces the most accurate predictions of disease infection or deoxynivalenol (DON) content under climatic conditions occurring in Quebec. Spring wheat was grown during two seasons and winter wheat during one season at four experimental sites located in Quebec. Nine selected models for evaluation produced predictions of DON content (Canada and Italy), disease incidence (Argentina and Italy), and probability of epidemics (United States). Data from plots without fungicide (52 samples) were used to test the models listed above. Reliability of the selected forecasting models was evaluated with receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve...