Variety selection can reduce oat mycotoxin risk

In the past few years, significantly more grain batches have had to be rejected in Finland due to excessively high DON mycotoxin levels. Toxins produced by Fusarium fungi have affected oats, wheat and barley.

Controlling Fusarium and mycotoxins requires effective overall management:

• diversified crop rotation
• maintaining soil health
• using healthy seed

Hanna Haikka, Plant Breeder at Boreal Plant Breeding Ltd, notes that variety selection plays a role. In oat breeding, Fusarium resistance is a key selection criterion.

“No oat variety is completely resistant to Fusarium, but there are differences in toxin risk: some varieties have low risk, most have average, and some elevated,” Haikka explains.

The factors influencing toxin risk in oat varieties are not fully understood. What is known:

• Oats: resistance is controlled by many genes
• Wheat: individual resistance genes are known

Knowledge gathered from inoculation fields

Since 2015, Boreal has assessed toxin risk using Fusarium inoculation fields, in cooperation with Luke. In 2025, a similar field was located in Ruukki, Northern Ostrobothnia.

In inoculation fields:

• Finnish Fusarium strains are applied
• conditions favorable to the fungus are maintained
• harvested crop is lab‑analyzed in autumn

Comparable conditions → comparable data.

“The results are combined with pedigree data and used in predictive models. The goal is to enrich resistance enhancing traits,” Haikka explains.

Low risk oat varieties: Inka, Perttu, Taika

Over 10 years, Boreal has gathered extensive data on traits affecting toxin risk. Haikka identifies three varieties with lower toxin risk:

• Taika (medium late)
• Inka (late)
• Perttu (early)

Contributing factors:

• very thin hull can increase risk
• long straw reduces soil‑borne infection risk
• lodging increases risk

Weather also affects risk — especially during ripening.

Weather has the greatest impact

Fusarium spreads:

• via air
• via seed
• via residues

Weather during flowering is the biggest factor.

“Mycotoxin years” often occur consecutively due to pathogen survival in residues.

No clear link has been shown between ploughing vs. direct drilling. Spraying must be precisely timed at flowering. Harvested grain should be dried quickly.

More information
Boreal Plant Breeding Ltd
Hanna Haikka
+358 50 376 6737
hanna.haikka(at)boreal.fi