The continued use of corn hybrids with varied resistance to grain rot-causing fungal agents increases the importance of these diseases every year. The objective of this work was to evaluate, by a sanitary test (blotter test), the severity of the fungus Fusarium verticilioides and the incidence of Stenocarpella maydis and Stenocarpella macrospora in corn grain from commercial hybrids, with and without in-field artificial inoculation, under two cultivation systems (conventional and direct sowing), over two crop seasons. The experiment was carried out under field conditions, using an experimental randomized blocks design, with three replications. In the laboratory, the severity of F. verticilioides and the incidence of S. maydis and S. macrospora ,the causative agents of ear rot in corn, were evaluated by the "blotter test" method. The blotter test evaluation allowed us to detect differences between the hybrids in their reactions to the fungi F. verticilioides, S. maydis and S. macrospora. The crop season and cultivation system used had the most influence on fungal infection in the hybrids. The direct sowing system showed an increase in the fungal infection responsible for causing grain rot. The use of artificial inoculation, in-field, to select genotypes resistant to the fungal agents causing the "grain rot complex" is efficient.
Grain rot; Zea mays; artificial inoculation; Fusarium verticilioides; Stenocarpella spp
