Geographical Distribution of Major Fusarium Species Causing Wheat Head Blight and Crown Rot in the North China Plain Is Influenced by Latitude and Cropping System

ABSTRACT Fusarium graminearum , F. pseudograminearum and F. asiaticum are the most important pathogens of wheat in the North China Plain (NCP), causing Fusarium head blight (FHB) and Fusarium crown rot (FCR). Over the last two decades, we have conducted annual field surveys to investigate the prevalence of these pathogens in relation to latitude and crop rotation in the NCP. A total of 606 fields were sampled, and 8825 Fusarium isolates were obtained from diseased stems and heads based on isolation during 2010–2024. F. graminearum , F. pseudograminearum and F. asiaticum showed distinct tissue‐specific distributions: stem tissues were dominated by F. pseudograminearum (81.9%), whereas head tissues were dominated by F. graminearum (63.1%) and F. asiaticum (27.8%). Overall, their incidences were 38.4%, 39.1% and 17.0%, respectively. Fusarium composition in a field was more associated with the location's latitude than crop rotation, although both factor's associations were statistically significant. F. pseudograminearum was more prevalent in higher latitude regions and under maize–wheat rotation systems, whereas F. asiaticum was associated with lower latitude regions and rice–wheat rotations. In contrast, the occurrence of F. graminearum in the NCP appeared not to be associated with latitude and crop rotation. A field inoculation study suggested that the three species did not differ in their ability to produce deoxynivalenol (DON) and zearalenone (ZEN) in the grain. Effective management of FCR and FHB should account for the spatial variation in dominance of F. pseudograminearum , F. graminearum and F. asiaticum , thereby supporting targeted disease management across different agro‐ecological zones.