Integrated Biodiversity Management in Paddy Fields: Shift of Paradigm From IPM Toward IBM

The insect fauna in paddy fields is composed of resident, migratory and aquatic species each corresponding to the continuous cropping of rice in the same field, harvesting rice as an annual crop, and originating from still water habitats in wetlands. Although IPM is becoming popular in the control of rice pests, those minor insects and aquatic insects that have no direct economic impact on rice production have received little attention. Consequently, some of them are in danger of extinction requiring conservation. A new concept, Integrated biodiversity management (IBM), is proposed under which IPM and conservation are reconciled and made compatible with each other. As an operational concept in agroecology, premises for implementing IBM are suggested.     

Some new races ofPuccinia striiformis

In the Netherlands in 1961 three new field races were found ofPuccinia striiformis, the causal fungus of yellow rust on wheat. Two of these, viz. the Falco race and the Opal race, together with the already known Etoile de Choisy race, constitute the so-called Nord-group of races, which is now clearly distinguished from the so-called Rubis-group. Most dangerous and interesting is the third of the new races. This so-called Cleo race proved to be the first to break both resistance to the Nord-group and resistance to the Rubis-group. On wheat seedlings in the greenhouse all three new races behaved like green-house race W(ageningen) 8=B(raunschweig) 55.Samenvatting Er zijn van de schimmelPuccinia striiformis Westend., de veroorzaker van de gele roest van tarwe, in Nederland in 1961 drie nieuwe veldfysio's gevonden. Dit zijn het Falco-fysio, het Opal-fysio en het Cleo-fysio. De eerste twee bleken met het reeds bekende Etoile de Choisy-fysio een groep te vormen, de z.g. Nord-groep, die zich duidelijk onderscheidt van de reeds beter bekende Rubis-groep van fysio's. Eerstgenoemde groep kenmerkt zich o.a. door de aantasting van het tarweras Nord, de laatstgenoemde door de aantasting van Rubis (zie tabel 1). Het belangrijkst en het gevaarlijkst is het Cleo-fysio. Dit bleek voor zover bekend het eerste en enige fysio te zijn dat zowel de resistentie tegen de Rubis-groep als die tegen de Nord-groep doorbreekt. Het heeft zodoende een zeer breed aantastingsspectrum. Van de tarwerassen die voorkomen in de 39ste Nederlandse Rassenlijst voor Landbouwgewassen (1964) zijn de volgende negen rassen vatbaar voor het Cleo-fysio met een aantastingsgraad van 6 tot 9 (Internationale Schaal): Cleo, Cappelle Desprez, Heine's VII, Hector, Stella, Sambo, Mado, Wodan en Jufy I. Bovendien bleek het Cleo-fysio in vergelijking met de andere veldfysio's goed te overwinteren en in 1964 reeds op vele plaatsen in Nederland aanwezig te zijn. Het Cleo-fysio maakt het des te noodzakelijker bij de selectie op resistentie tegen gele roest te werken op een brede genetische basis. Bij toetsing op tarwekiemplanten in de kas gedroegen de drie nieuwe fysio's zich alle als het kasfysio W(ageningen) 8 =B(raunschweig) 55 (zie tabel 2).     

The Potential Benefits of Weeds with Reference to Small Holder Agriculture in Africa

Weed control is one of the most important crop protection activities undertaken in both intensive and low-input farming systems. However, even under intensive systems, crop protection which is less dependent on pesticides may require that weeds be managed to obtain a balance between crop and non-crop vegetation to encourage an increase in natural enemies of crop pests. In the low-input farming systems which sustain much of the rural population of Africa, weed control is usually done by hand and clean weeding is often beyond the labour resources of the farming family. The vegetational diversity of peasant agriculture in Africa to which weeds make their contribution, helps to decrease the risk of disease and pest epidemics. In addition to the pest control benefits of a diverse agroecosystem, weeds contribute to the resource base of the rural community, providing a source of secondary foods, medicines and insecticides. Weed control within an integrated crop protection system appropriate to the needs of the resource-poor farmer, requires that weeds are managed in such a way that their biodiversity is maintained and the more useful species retained within the field or field margin. Those weeds with high food potential or which have pesticidal or medicinal properties might be deliberately encouraged within the crop or field margins. Certain weed species may harbour important pests or diseases of local crops and therefore should be selectively removed. The paper reviews and discusses the literature on the beneficial and deleterious effects of weeds and argues for a weed management strategy which balances the effects of weed competition on crop production with the ethnobotanical and pest control attributes of individual weed species and weed communities.     

Pathogenic variation in poplar rust <Emphasis Type="Italic">Melampsora larici-populina</Emphasis> from England

Using a leaf disc method, 19 isolates of the poplar rust, Melampsora larici-populina , and one isolate of M.populnea from England were inoculated on to 25 poplar clones belonging to Populus nigra and P.trichocarpa, and hybrids between P. deltoides and P. nigra, P. deltoidesand P. trichocarpa, P.tacamahaca and P.trichocarpa, and P. alba and P. tremula. Disease was scored based on the pustule area and inoculum density. In terms of whether sporulating uredinia formed, the 19 isolates showed seven different patterns to the tested poplar clones. The majority of the rust isolates infected P. nigra P3090 and Vereecken, P.nigra×P. deltoides Casale and Tasman, P. tacamahaca×trichocarpa 36 and Balsam Spire, and P.trichocarpa Blom. Populus trichocarpa×P. deltoides 69039/4 was infected by only three isolates collected from southern England. No visible symptoms appeared on P. alba ×P. tremulaTower and P.trichcarpa×P. deltoides×P. deltoides76028/5 in inoculations with M. larici-populina isolates. Populus alba×P.tremula Tower was infected only by M. populnea. When M. larici-populina isolates were tested using AFLP, no differences were found either between isolates from different geographical regions or between those having narrow spectrum of virulence and those showing wide spectrum of virulence on the tested clones. The results suggest that the UK rust populations possess virulences which were found in races E1, E2, E3 and E4 in continental Europe and that rust having virulence patterns similar to race E4 has occurred in UK poplar plantations since 1996.     

Occurrence and etiology of death of young olive trees in southern Spain

New plantations of olive tree in southern Spain are being severely affected by wilt or dieback and death, which has been locally called Drying Syndrome. To determine the etiology of this problem, a study was carried out in samples of affected young trees collected during a seven year period (1989–1995), and in two field surveys in 1994–95 and 1996. Besides some insect damage and agronomic problems, the Drying Syndrome was associated with Verticillium wilt, winter frost and root rot fungi. Although Drying Syndrome can be distinguished from Verticillium wilt, the latter was included in this study, since, frequently, Verticillium wilt symptoms were unspecific and Verticillium dahliae could not be always isolated in the diagnostic work that preceded this study. Early winter frost caused a vascular necrosis and wilt of the young olive trees. This unusual and severe damage was related with the lack of frost hardiness due to warm temperatures during the previous autumn. Root rot fungi were very frequent in the samples of diseased olive trees of field or nursery origin, and they were the main cause of Drying Syndrome in the second field survey, when a heavy rainfall level occurred during winter. Pathogenicity tests showed that five fungal species (Cylindrocarpon destructans, Phytophthora megasperma, P. palmivora, Pythium irregulare and Sclerotium rolfsii) were pathogenic to olive trees and reproduced symptoms of Drying syndrome in rooted cuttings of cultivar Picual. Other fungal species associated with root rot of olive trees in the field or in the nurseries, including Fusarium acuminatum, F. eumartii, F. oxysporum, F. solani, Macrophomina phaseolina and Rhizoctonia solani, were weakly or not pathogenic. Pathogenicity of P. megasperma, P. palmivora and P. irregulare depended on soil water content, since isolates tested caused extensive root rot and sudden plant death only when the soil was continuously waterlogged. The high frequency of P. megasperma in waterlogged field soils and its pathogenicity dependence on soil water content suggest that this pathogen may play an important role in the well known sensitivity of young olive trees to root asphyxiation.     

Biochemical properties of the pathogenesis-related proteins from tobacco

This review describes the discovery and identification of the pathogenesis-related proteins (PRs) from tobacco. In crude leaf extracts the PRs are distinguished from the proteins in uninfected plants by their solubility at pH 3, resistance to a range of proteases, and mobility in polyacrylamide gels upon electrophoresis (PAGE) in non-denaturing conditions. PAGE has been used as a qualitative and semi-quantitative assay for PRs, and their migration in gels made from different acrylamide concentrations has been used to identify charge and size isomers and electrophoretically identical PRs in different tobacco cultivars. The subunit composition and molecular weight (mol. wt) of the four PRs identified first in Xanthi-nc were determined by SDS-PAGE; staining the gels has shown that these same four proteins in Samsun NN did not contain carbohydrate, lipid or nucleic acid, nor were they isozymic forms of twenty five enzymes known to increase in activity following infection with TMV. Evidence suggests that most of the PRs in Xanthi-nc and Samsun NN are extracellular.The purification of several PRs from Xanthi-nc, Samsun NN and other tobaccos is described, as well as their mol. wt, subunit and amino acid composition. PRs 1a, b and c consist of a single polypeptide and have similar mol. wt and amino acid compositions. Antisera prepared against purified Xanthi-nc b₁ protein have been used to determine serological relationships between PRs and form the basis of a very sensitive quantitative assay using ELISA. The regulation of synthesis of some PRs has been shown to involve translational control.     

Pelargonium flower-break and pelargonium line pattern viruses in the Netherlands; purification,antiserum preparation,serological identification,and detection in pelargonium by ELISA

Two viruses, detected frequently in the Netherlands in pelargonium, were identified by serology and test plant reactions. Antisera were prepared and an ELISA procedure was developed to detect the viruses in pelargonium.One of the viruses, PFBV-N, proved to be pelargonium flower-break virus. With the antiserum to PFBV-N, it could be detected reliably throughout the year inPelargonium zonale Springtime Irene.The other virus, PLPV-N, was serologically closely related to pelargonium line pattern virus (PLPV) and to pelargonium ring pattern virus (PRPV), as were an old virus isolate from Saturnus, collected in the Netherlands in 1971 (L128), and PLPV isolates from Yugoslavia (PLPV-Y) and Denmark (PLPV-D). There were only minor differences in host-plant reactions between the virus isolates. Based on these tests, PLPV and PRPV are considered as isolates of the same virus, for which, for practical reasons, the name pelargonium line pattern virus is proposed.PLPV could be reliably detected by ELISA inP. zonale Springtime Irene and Amanda throughout the year with only a few exceptions. InPelargonium peltatum Tavira, however, reslts were erratic due to uneven distribution of virus in the plant. Best results were obtained when petioles of fully expanded leaves were tested.     

Diapause in the nematodeGlobodera pallida

Over a period of 12 months new and old cysts ofGlobodera pallida were hatched in potato root diffusate according to a novel nematode-response hatching protocol. In this protocol, cysts were set to hatch at the beginning of autumn and then left to indicate when their hatching ability was exhausted (when less than 100 juveniles/replicate/week emerged) before another batch of cysts was set to hatch. At any time of the year for the 12 months this experiment was conducted there were cysts hatching. After 12 months of hatching, eight hatching curves were obtained. Based on the hatching curves of the new and old cysts, diapause was shown to be present in new cysts in autumn, winter and early spring. However, diapause was absent in late spring and summer.Infectivity assays to distinguish between juveniles obtained in the periods when cysts were in diapause and when cysts had overcome their diapause failed to show any significant difference in their infectivity. There was no significant difference in the number of eggs in new and old cysts. Based on this observation, it was suggested that high emergence in old cysts may not be a result of few eggs in the cyst but rather due to absence of diapause. Also the presence of large numbers of eggs in old cysts even after being stored for 12 months outdoors in the soil does not support the theories of spontaneous hatching, micro-organism induced hatching or persistence of hatching factors in the soil.     

Production of tobacco mosaic virus in and its infectivity from leaves of two Nicotiana species treated with 6-azauracil

A correlation between the amount of virus as determined by infectivity test and that determined by a serological-spectrophotometric method was established in leaf discs ofNicotiana tabacum White Burley which had floated on a solution of 6-azauracil (AzU) before and after inoculation with tobacco mosaic virus. More virus, determined in the two different ways, was present in the AzU-than in the water-treated leaf discs at 24 and 48 h after inoculation. Thereafter, the amount of virus was less than that in the control. The inhibitory effect of the pyrimidine analogue on the amount of infectivity in sap from AzU-treated discs proved to be dependent on the dilution of sap used. The higher the dilution the more inhibition occurred.In inoculated leaf discs ofNicotiana glutinosa the formation of local lesions in the AzU-treated series was strongly inhibited at 48 h after inoculation whereas at that time the amount of virus determined by the serological-spectrophotometric method was higher than that in the water-treated control ones. The latter mentioned stimulating effect disappeared later than 48 h after inoculation and gave way to inhibition.The infectivity of tobacco mosaic virus from AzU-treated leaf discs of White Burley tobacco was 23% of that from water-treated controls when undiluted clarified sap was used.     

Rhadinaphelenchus cocophilus associated with little leaf of coconut and oil palm

Samenvatting In Suriname wordt bij kokospalm en meer nog bij oliepalm het verschijnsel little leaf waargenomen (fig. 1 en 2). De verkurking, vooral van de binnenzijde van de bladsteel, en de bladmisvormingen die hierbij optreden, kunnen zeer sterk zijn (fig. 3). Deze misvormingen blijken reeds te beginnen bij zeer jonge bladeren van 2,5 tot 4 cm lengte (fig. 4). Op hun bladstelen komen lichtgele, verhoogde plekken voor; de cellen zijn hier abnormaal sterk gedeeld en klein (fig. 5). Op deze plekken bevinden zich veel aaltjes buiten op het weefsel. Bij iets oudere bladeren worden de aaltjes ook op de jonge bladslippen aangetroffen. Als gevolg van de beschadiging in een jong stadium groeien de bladeren slecht, soms in het geheel niet meer uit. Het gevonden aaltje bleek steeds de soortRhadinaphelenchus cocophilus (Cobb) te zijn. Het is bekend als de veroorzaker van red ring bij kokos-en oliepalm. Red ring werd in Suriname echter nooit opgemerkt, terwijl little leaf bij palm op kleigronden niet werd waargenomen. Buiten Suriname werd door ons in Brits Guyana little leaf in combinatie met hetzelfde aaltje geconstateerd.Inoculatie van acht oliepalmen van twee jaar oud door een suspensie van de aaltjes in het groeipunt te gieten, had geen resultaat; van vijf geïnoculeerde oliepalmen van acht jaar oud vertoonde er één na tien maanden duidelijke ziektesymptomen.Vijftien maanden na de inoculatie werden de typische beelden op de jonge bladeren van deze palmen geconstateerd, benevens grote aantallen aaltjes. Bij andere palmen van deze aanplant op klei werd geen little leaf waargenomen.     

Rep-PCR Based Genomic Fingerprinting of Isolates of Leptosphaeria maculans from Poland

Leptosphaeria maculans, the ascomycete fungus which causes blackleg disease of oilseed rape, has been considered for a long time as a single species divided into aggressive and non-aggressive pathogenicity groups which differ in their economic importance. However, the development of accurate biochemical and molecular characterisation methods has demonstrated that the world-wide L. maculans population actually comprises at least two species. The aim of this research was to assess the ability of rep (repetitive element based)-PCR genomic fingerprinting methods, initially developed for bacterial identification, to characterise a collection of 90 isolates of L. maculans from Poland, in comparison with reference isolates from the IBCN (International Blackleg of Crucifers Network) collection. REP (repetitive extragenic palindromic)-, ERIC (enterobacterial repetitive intergenic consensus)-, and BOX primers for rep-PCR genomic fingerprinting, and primers derived from LMR1, a L. maculans specific repeated element, were tested. Rep-PCR and LMR1-based analyses were able to discriminate the different components of the species complex and to evaluate the genetic diversity within each member of the complex. These analyses suggested that Polish populations of L. maculans mainly belong to the non-aggressive species, rather than the aggressive species which is prevalent in Western Europe, Canada and Australia.     

Viruses transmitted by Xiphinema species in the Netherlands

Samenvatting De in Nederland voorkomendeXiphinema-soorten te wetenX. diversicaudatum enX. coxi, werden bestudeerd op hun vermogen om vier virussen over te brengen (Tabel 1).X. coxi bleek een vector van het tobacco ringspot virus te zijn. Het strawberry latent ringspot virus werd voor de eerste maal in Nederland overgebracht metX-diversicaudatum.     

Isolation and identification of pathogenic strains of tomato mosaic virus by host passage

Three isolates of tomato mosaic virus, A.8, SJ-64 and SL^a, assumed to contain the pathogenic strains 1 and 2, were each subjected to selection pressure by passage through different hosts in concurrent series. The sub-isolated obtained were tested at intervals on differential tomato lines heterozygous for each of the resistance genes Tm-1 and Tm-2 and for the combination of Tm-1 and Tm-2.Three preliminary passages throughSolanum pennellii followed by 22 passages through the tomato line CStMW-18 (Tm-1/Tm-1) resulted for A.8, SJ-64 and SL^a in sub-iolates, of strain 1. Three preliminary passages throughL. peruvianum P. I. 128655 followed by 22 passages through the tomato line Pérou-2 (Tm-2/Tm-2) resulted for A.8 and SL^a in sub-isolates of strain 2 and for SJ-64 in a sub-isolate of strain 1.2. Twenty passages through Pérou-2, followed by two additional passages through the tomato line Craigella Tm-1/+Tm-2/+ resulted for SJ-64 and SL^a in sub-isolates of strain 1.2 and for A.8 in a sub-isolate of strain 2.Samenvatting Op drie isolaten van het tomatemozaïekvirus, A.8, SJ-64 en SL^a, die naar alle waarschijnlijkheid de pathogene stammen 1 en 2 bevatten, werd selectiedruk uitgeoefend door een herhaalde waardplantpassage. Voor de afscheiding van stam 1 onderging elk van de isolaten eerst driemaal een passage doorSolanum pennellii en vervolgens 22 maal door de tomaatselectie CStMW-18 (Tm-1/Tm-1). Voor stam 2 passeerde elk isolaat eerst driemaalLycopersicon peruvianum P.I. 128655 en vervolgens 22 maal de tomaatselectie Pérou-2 (Tm-2/Tm-2). Op gezette tijden werden de sub-isolaten, verkregen uit de gelijktijdig verlopende passageproeven, getoetst op een differentiële reeks tomaatselecties. Deze waren heterozygoot en homozygoot voor de resistentiegenen Tm-1 en Tm-2 en voor de combinatie van Tm-1 en Tm-2.Voor elk van de isolaten A.8, SJ-64 en SL^a werden na passage door CStMW-18 sub-isolaten verkregen van stam 1. Terwijl voor A.8 en SL^a na passage door Pérou-2 sub-isolaten van stam 2 werden verkregen, leverde dezelfde passage voor SJ-64 een sub-isolaat, op van stam 1.2. Voor SJ-64 en SL^a gaven, twee passages door de tomaatselectie Craigella Tm-1/2 Tm-2/+ in aansluiting op 20 passages door Pérou-2 aanleiding tot de vorming van stam 1.2.In de discussie wordt op de mogelijke ontstaanswijze van stam 1.2 ingegaan.     

Identification of blackeye cowpea mosaic virus from germplasm of yard-long bean and from soybean,and the relationships between blackeye cowpea mosaic virus and cowpea aphid-borne mosaic virus

Two potyvirus isolates, one from germplasm of yard-long bean (Vigna unguiculata ssp.sesquipedalis) introduced into the Netherlands, and another one from soybean plants (Glycine max) in Indonesia, were compared with two virus isolates of blackeye cowpea mosaic virus (BICMV) from the USA and a Moroccan isolate of cowpea aphid-borne mosaic virus (CAMV). It is proposed that all five isolates be now considered BICMV on the basis of host ranges, symptoms and serology. From our results, and a reassessment of the literature it is suggested to drop the name CAMV in favour of BICMV.Samenvatting Twee potyvirussen, de een in Nederland ingevoerd met genenmateriaal vanVigna unguiculata ssp.sesquipedalis en de ander uit planten van sojaboon (Glycine max) in Indonesië, werden vergeleken met twee isolaten van blackeye cowpea mosiac virus (BICMV) en een Marokkaans isolaat van cowpea aphid-borne mosaic virus (CAMV). Op grond van waardplantenreeksen, symptomen en serologie stellen de auteurs voor om alle vijf isolaten te beschouwen als BICMV. Gebaseerd op de verkregen resultaten en een kritische beschouwing van de literatuur wordt de aanbeveling gedaan om de naam CAMV te laten vallen ten gunste van BICMV.     

Inoculation of cucumber roots with zoospores of mycoparasitic and plant pathogenic Pythium species: Differential zoospore accumulation, colonization ability and plant growth response

Hydroponically grown cucumber (Cucumis sativus) seedlings were inoculated with zoospores of 1 mycoparasitic (Pythium oligandrum) and 2 pathogenic (Pythium aphanidermatum and Pythium group F) Pythium spp. During the first 2 days after inoculation, all the Pythium spp. caused reduction in the root length. However, roots treated with Pythium oligandrum quickly reached the length of the control and on the 8th day, and for the rest of the experimental period, stimulation of root elongation was noted. Pythium oligandrum was not pathogenic on cucumber and no differences in the fresh weights of control and Pythium oligandrum inoculated plants were observed in the course of the experiment. Pythium group F and Pythium aphanidermatum were pathogenic on cucumber seedlings, but their pathogenicities differed. Thus, while Pythium group F had a constant, negative influence on root length and plant growth, measured as fresh weight, Pythium aphanidermatum caused generalized necroses of the root system, inhibiting consistently root elongation and plant growth and finally causing plant death. Moreover, the zoospores of 2 mycoparasitic species, Pythium oligandrum and Pythium periplocum, were not attracted to roots of cucumber and accumulated on the roots in very low numbers compared to those of the pathogenic species, Pythium aphanidermatum, which were strongly attracted and accumulated in large numbers. Finally, it was also found that Pythium oligandrum colonized the roots very poorly, while Pythium group F and Pythium aphanidermatum were significantly better root colonizers. The significance of these findings is discussed in relation to the ecology of Pythium species and biocontrol.     

Nerine latent virus: some properties and serological detectability in Nerine bowdenii

Nerine latent virus (NeLV), first found inNerine bowdenii, may occur also in the otherNerine species investigated so far:N. sarniensis, N. flexuosa Alba, andN. Mansellii. Chenopodium amaranticolor, C. quinoa, andGomphrena globosa sometimes reacted with local lesions after mechanical inoculation with NeLV.Nicotiana clevelandii andHippeastrum were symptomless hosts. In this respect NeLV resembled the incompletely describedHippeastrum latent virus (HLV).Serologically NeLV was closely related to HLV and to carnation latent virus (CaLV), but differed from the latter in host plant reaction. A more distant relationship was observed with some other carlaviruses, wheareas NeLV also reacted with an antiserum to potato virus X.Depending on the lot, NeLV could be detected rather reliably with the micro-precipitin test inN. bowdenii Van Roon, but less well in 63. Better results were obtained with the microplate method of enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).The average particle length was 664 nm, the sedimentation coefficient 155 S and the buoyant density 1.298 g/cm³.NeLV can be considered as a member of the carlavirus group. On basis of priority HLV may be considered as NeLV.     

Influence of Inoculum Density of Races 0 and 5 of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. ciceris on Development of Fusarium Wilt in Chickpea Cultivars

Artificial inoculation experiments were carried out at 25°C to determine the effects of inoculum density of Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. ciceris races 0 (Foc-0) and 5 (Foc-5) and susceptibility of chickpea cultivars P-2245 and PV-61 on development of Fusarium wilt. Foc-5 proved much more virulent than Foc-0. Increasing the inoculum density of F. oxysporum f.sp. ciceris caused an exponential reduction in disease incubation period and a monomolecular increase of disease incidence and the area under the disease intensity progress curve. The extent of these effects was highest in the most conducive P-2245/Foc-5 combination and decreased in the less susceptible PV-61 and for the less virulent Foc-0, in that order. For P-2245/Foc-5, the highest disease intensity was attained with 6 chlamydospores g^–1 of soil, the lowest inoculum density in the study. One thousand chlamydospores g^–1 of soil of the same race were needed to attain a comparable disease intensity in PV-61. Twenty thousand chlamydospores g^–1 of soil of Foc-0 were required for maximum disease intensity in P-2245.The disease intensity curves were adequately described by the Gompertz model. Using this model, a response surface for disease intensity was developed, in which the model parameters are expressed as a function of both time from inoculation and inoculum density. This response surface confirmed that the final amount of disease intensity increases in a monomolecular relationship with increasing inoculum density and showed that the relative rate of disease progress increases exponentially with increasing inoculum density of the pathogen.     

Colonization and histopathology of susceptible and resistant carnation cultivars infected with Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. dianthi

Stems of the susceptible Early Sam and resistant Novada carnations were inoculated with a conidial suspension ofFusarium oxysporum f. sp.dianthi. Stem segments of either cultivar were sampled regularly and used for determination of fungal growth and for microscopical investigation.Early Sam showed typicalFusarium wilt symptoms and its stems were colonized intensively. The observed vascular browning appeared to be caused by discolouration of primary walls of infected vessels and surrounding cells. Vessels were rarely occluded with gel. Cell wall degradation led to the formation of stem cavities. Hyperplasia of xylem parenchyma was not seen.In Novada, fungal colonization remained low throughout the experiment. Macroscopic symptoms were absent except for longitudinal bursts in the stem, which appeared to be caused by hyperplasia of xylem parenchyma bordering infection. Vascular gelation occurred in the infected tissues, causing some vascular browning also. Xylem vessel regeneration was observed in the hyperplastic layer. Cavities were not formed, and wall discolouration was rare. Vascular gelation is considered part of theFusarium wilt resistance mechanism. It is followed by xylem vessel regeneration, which expresses a general plant response to vascular dysfunction rather than being part of the resistance mechanism.Although of different origin, vascular browning as such occurs in both susceptible and resistant interactions. In breeding for resistance, care should hence be taken with the current use of browning as an indication of disease.Samenvatting Anjers van de vatbare cultivar Early Sam en de resistente cultivar Novada werden geïnoculeerd met een conidiënsuspensie vanFusarium oxysporum f. sp.dianthi. Van beide cultivars werden regelmatig stengeldelen geoogst om deze microscopisch te onderzoeken en om de schimmelgroei te bepalen.Early Sam vertoonde de voor deze verwelkingsziekte kenmerkende symptomen en werd intensief gekoloniseerd. Aan het vaatweefsel waargenomen bruinkleuring bleek veroorzaakt te worden door verkleuring van de primaire wanden van geïnfecteerde vaten en de hen omringende cellen. Zelden trad er in de vaten gomvorming op. Celwandafbraak veroorzaakte de vorming van holten in de stengel. Hyperplasie van het houtparenchym werd niet waargenomen.In Novada bleef de schimmelgroei gedurende het hele experiment beperkt. Macroscopisch waren er enkel lengtescheuren in de stengel te zien, die veroorzaakt bleken te worden door hyperplasie van aan de infectie grenzend houtparenchym. In het geïnfecteerde vaatweefsel optredende gomvorming veroorzaakte ook enige bruinkleuring. In het hyperplastische weefsel werd regeneratie van houtvaten waargenomen. In de stengel werden geen holten gevormd, en verkleuring van de celwanden kwam weinig voor. De vorming van gommen in de houtvaten maakt waarschijnlijk deel uit van het resistentiemechanisme. De daarop volgende houtvatregeneratie is eerder een algemene reactie van de plant op vaatverstopping dan een deel van het resistentiemechanisme.Vaatverbruining, zij het van verschillende oorsprong, komt voor in zowel vatbare als resistente interacties. Om die reden moet men in de resistentieveredeling bij de anjer voorzichtig zijn met het gebruik van bruinkleuring als ziekteïndicatie.     

The ash wilt disease: A preliminary investigation of wood anatomy

A macroscopical, microscopical and SEM examination of wood samples, taken from diseased ash trees, was undertaken to probe into the cause of an ash wilt disease considered to be identical with dieback. The symptoms, particularly the obstruction of the vessels by tyloses and the occurrence of fungal hyphae in one specimen, bear a strong resemblance to those found in Dutch elm disease.Samenvatting Houtmonsters van zieke essen werden macroscopisch, microscopisch en met de SEM onderzocht om de oorzaak van de esseverwelkingsziekte op te sporen. Deze ziekte, ook wel aangeduid met essensterven, vertoont grote overeenkomsten met de in de Verenigde Staten van Amerika en in Groot-Brittanië al langer bekende ash dieback. De gevonden verschijnselen, in het bijzonder de verstopping van vaten door thyllen en het vóórkomen van schimmeldraden in een van de monsters, vertonen veel overeenkomsten met karakteristieke symptomen van de iepeziekte en van de eikeverwelking.     

Top wilting in asparagus

Wilting and dying off of young shoots of the second flush of asparagus are typical symptoms of one of the soil-borne diseases of this crop. Fungi could not be isolated from these shoots. A positive correlation was found between an increase of the pF-value of the soil and the occurrence of topwilting.Samenvatting Een van de ziekten van asperge is topverwelking, waarbij de stengeltoppen van jonge scheuten vrij plotseling verwelken, en vervolgens de gehele stengel afsterft. Dit komt vooral voor in jonge stengels van het zogenoemde tweede schot in juli en augustus. Er werd een positieve correlatie gevonden tussen het optreden van dit verschijnsel en het oplopen van de pF curve (Fig. 3). Schimmels konden uit juist verwelkte stengels niet geïsoleerd worden.