Fusarium infection of malting barley has to be managed over the entire value chain

Fusarium head blight of malting barley is difficult to diagnose and difficult to prevent by crop protection measures. However, Fusarium species cause severe problems in processing barley grain and cause contaminations of malt and malt products with fungal toxins and possibly with toxin derivates. Therefore, we briefly summarize at which stage of malt production Fusarium infections cause which kind of problems and how such problems can be possibly managed in future malt production practice. We argue for a stronger focus on innovative diagnostics and development of appropriate crop protection measures to prevent problems Fusarium species cause once infected barley grain has entered the value chain.