Studies on the Interaction Between Septoria tritici and Stagonospora nodorum in Wheat

Interactions between Stagonospora nodorum and Septoria tritici were studied. Results from a detached glume experiment indicated that the interaction may be isolate-dependent, as it was shown that the interaction between the two pathogens may be beneficial or antagonistic depending on the isolate of each pathogen present. The number of spores produced by both pathogens was significantly greater when an aggressive isolate of S. tritici was mixed with a non-aggressive isolate of S. nodorum, whereas the number of spores produced by both pathogens was significantly less when two non-aggressive isolates were mixed. There was a significant reduction in disease level when S. tritici was applied prior to S. nodorum, compared to vice versa in the growth chamber. Results from growth chamber and field studies showed that S. nodorum produced significantly more spores when both pathogens were present together. It is concluded that S. tritici has a stimulatory effect on spore production by S. nodorum. However, there was a reduction of S. tritici spores observed in the dual inoculation treatments, suggesting that S. nodorum inhibits S. tritici.     

Interactions between Erysiphe graminis and Septoria nodorum on wheat

Interactions between Erysiphe graminis f.sp. tritici and Septoria nodorum on wheat were studied in the greenhouse and in a 2-year field experiment using artificial inoculation. The integrated form of the logistic growth model dy/dt = ry (1 -y/K ), with infection rate r and final accumulated disease K , was fitted to the disease progress data. Septoria nodorum substantially reduced the disease severities of E. graminis , and caused significant reductions of at least 60% in final accumulated disease K of E. graminis. In the field trials, E. graminis increased the final accumulated disease K of S. nodorum. Owing to the extremely low severity of E. graminis , the increase of S. nodorum severity was small, and significance was given in one of the two years only, with an increase in K of roughly 30%. In the pot experiment, final accumulated disease K of S. nodorum remained unchanged, but there was a significant 30% increase in the infection rate r of S. nodorum. The difference between field and pot trials was explained by the climatic conditions in the greenhouse which excluded secondary infections of 5. nodorum , and which are important factors for disease progress in the field.     

Adaptation of Septoria nodorum to wheat or barley on detached leaves

Single-spore cultures of wheat- and barley-adapted isolates of Septoria nodorum were serially passaged through detached leaves of wheat or barley. Rare instances of change in host adaptation were observed after passaging but associated changes in other characters, including heterokaryon compatibility, identified the changed isolates as contaminants. Inoculation of progressively more dilute spore suspensions to detached leaves revealed that some isolates were highly infective to the host to which they were adapted, with a high probability of a single spore initiating infection. Inocula deliberately contaminated with a small proportion of spores of opposite host adaptation revealed changes when passaged on wheat that mimicked the rare changes observed on passaging pure wheat- or barley-adapted isolates. These results suggest that adaptation to wheat or barley is a stable property of pure cultures of S. nodorum and that the occasional changes in host adaptation observed on passaging result from selection of contaminants.     

Antagonism of yeastlike phyllosphere fungi against Septoria nodorum on wheat leaves

Aureobasidium pullulans, Sporobolomyces roseus, andCryptococcus laurentii var.flavescens, added to the inoculum, reduced the superficial mycelial growth ofSeptoria nodorum and the infection of wheat leaves by 50% or more. The mycelial growth was affected similarly in vitro, on slides covered with water agar. The antagonistic effect on germination was slight. The concentration of the saprophytes on the leaves after inoculation was comparable to population densities occurring on field-grown wheat.Samenvatting Aureobasidium pullulans, Sporobolomyces roseus enCryptococcus laurentii var.flavescens toegevoegd aan een conidiënsuspensie vanSeptoria nodorum verminderden de oppervlakkige myceliumgroei vanSeptoria en de infectie, van de bladeren tot de helft of meer (Tabel 1). Het effect op de sporekieming was gering. In vitro, op zgn. agarglaasjes, werd de myceliumgroei op vergelijkbare wijze geremd (Tabel 2). De concentrative van de saprofyten na inoculatie kwam overeen met in het veld voorkomende populatiedichtheden (Tabel 3).     

Wheat Leaf Rust Uredospore Production on Adult Plants: Influence of Leaf Nitrogen Content and Septoria tritici Blotch

ABSTRACT Leaf rust uredospore production and lesion size were measured on flag leaves of adult wheat plants in a glasshouse for different lesion densities. We estimated the spore weight produced per square centimeter of infected leaf, per lesion, and per unit of sporulating area. Three levels of fertilization were applied to the plants to obtain different nitrogen content for the inoculated leaves. In a fourth treatment, we evaluated the effect of Septoria tritici blotch on leaf rust uredospore production. The nitrogen and carbon content of the spores was unaffected or marginally affected by lesion density, host leaf nitrogen content, or the presence of Mycosphaerella graminicola on the same leaf. In leaves with a low-nitrogen content, spore production per lesion was reduced, but lesion size was unaffected. A threshold effect of leaf nitrogen content in spore production was however, evident, since production was similar in the medium- and high-fertilizer treatments. In leaves inoculated with M. graminicola and Puccinia triticina, the rust lesions were smaller and produced fewer spores. The relationships among rust lesion density, lesion size, and uredospore production were fitted to a model. We determined that the density effect on spore production resulted mainly from a reduction in lesion size, the spore production per unit of sporulating surface being largely independent of lesion density. These results are consistent with those obtained previously on wheat seedlings. The main difference was that the sporulation period lasted longer in adult leaves.     

Sensitivity of Drechslera teres and Septoria nodorum to sterol-biosynthesis inhibitors

The sensitivity of 282 isolates ofSeptoria nodorum was tested on prochloraz, propiconazole and guazatine, and of 129 isolates ofDrechslera teres on prochloraz, propiconazole, imazalil and triadimefon. There was a great variation in sensitivity between isolates particularly at relatively low concentrations of the fungicides. However, none of the isolates was considered resistant towards the sterol biosynthesis inhibitors tested. Some isolates ofS. nodorum grew on concentrations of guazatine that may present difficulties in controlling them under practical conditions.Samenvatting Isolaten vanSeptoria nodorum (n=282) werden getoetst op gevoeligheid voor prochloraz, propiconazool en guazatine en vanDrechslera teres (n=129) voor prochloraz, propiconazool, imazalil en triadimefon. Er waren grote verschillen in de gevoeligheid van de isolaten, in het bijzonder bij lage concentraties van de fungiciden. Geen van de isolaten kan echter als resistent tegen sterolbiosynthese-remmers worden opgevat. Het feit, dat sommige van de isolaten vanS. nodorum zich ontwikkelden op media die hoge concentraties guazatine bevatten, kan echter duiden op moeilijkheden bij de bestrijding onder praktische omstandigheden.     

Control of Stagonospora nodorum and Septoria tritici in Wheat by Pre-treatment with Drechslera teres, a Non-host Pathogen

A field study is described which explored the possibility of controlling Stagonospora nodorum and Septoria tritici on wheat using a barley pathogen, Drechslera teres. Pre-treatment of wheat cv. Hussar flag leaves with D. teres resulted in a significant reduction in disease caused by S. nodorum and S. tritici, resulting in a significant increase in grain yield. When cv. Brigadier leaves were treated with D. teres prior to inoculation with S. nodorum there was an initial increase in disease expression whilst D. teres had no effect on symptoms produced by S. tritici on cv. Brigadier. There was significantly less disease on leaves of cvs. Hussar and Brigadier pre-treated with D. teres prior to inoculation with an equal mixture of S. nodorum and S. tritici compared to plants pre-treated with water. It is concluded that D. teres and other non-host pathogens show potential as biological control agents for S. nodorum and S. tritici.     

Interference of nutrients with fungicide activity against Septoria nodorum on wheat leaves

The effect of nutrients on reduction of the germination and mycelial growth of Septoria nodorum by the fungicides propiconazole, fenpropimorph and prochloraz, and on the reduction of S. nodorum infection by prochloraz, was tested on wheat plants in a controlled environment. The nutrients tested were aphid honeydew, sucrose, a mixture of amino acids and combinations of sucrose with yeast extract and amino acids, all in different concentrations. All nutrients could stimulate S. nodorum infection in combination with the tested prochloraz concentrations (4.5–45 mg a.i./1), but amino acids did not significantly stimulate infection in the fungicide-free treatments. The stimulating effect of the nutrients was generally stronger with higher nutrient/fungicide ratios. Aphid honeydew had more effect than its main components sucrose and amino acids separately. Antagonism between nutrients and prochloraz was determined with the Colby method and from dose-response curves by comparing ED₅₀ S and drawing antagonism isoboles. Aphid honeydew, sucrose and amino acids caused an up to 10-fold increase of the ED₅₀ and can be considered antagonistic to prochloraz.     

Observations on the host range of an isolate of Septoria nodorum from wheat

An isolate ofS. nodorum from wheat was inoculated onto grasses in the field. Re-isolates from these grasses were tested in a cross-inoculation experiment, performed in a growth chamber. The wheat isolate was pathogenic to each element of a set consisting ofElytrigia repens, Hordeum vulgare, Lolium perenne, Poa annua, andTriticum aestivum. Re-isolates from any of the elements of this set were pathogenic to all other elements. The effects of hosts and inoculum-density treatments were statistically significant. A significant isolate x host interaction suggests a form of specialization, which is possibly due to a passage effect. These observations may contribute to a better understanding of the epidemiology ofS. nodorum in the Netherlands.Samenvatting Grassen en granen te velde werden geïnoculeerd met eenS. nodorum isolaat van tarwe. Symptomen van aantasting door de schimmel werden gevonden opElytrigia repens, Hordeum vulgare, Lolium perenne, Poa annua enTriticum aestivum. Van deze vijf waardplanten werden her-isolaten gewonnen, die vervolgens in een klimaatkamer geinoculeerd werden op ieder van de vijf waardplanten. Aldus ontstond een kruisinoculatiematrix van bladaantastingspercentages (Tabel 2), die aan een variantieanalyse (Tabel 3) kon worden onderworpen. De volgende effecten waren significant: waardplanten, inoculumdichtheden, interactie herisolaat x waardplant, en interactie herisolaat x waardplant x inoculumdichtheid. De interacties suggereren beïnvloeding door de waardplant, dus een passage-effect. Bij passage over een waardplant zou enige mate van fysiologische specialisatie kunnen optreden. Dit wordt bevestigd door gegevens van Weber (Tabel 5). Deze waarnemingen over de waardplantreeks kunnen van belang zijn voor een beter begrip van de epidemiologie vanS. nodorum in Nederland.     

Quantitative Trait Loci Analysis and Mapping of Seedling Resistance to Stagonospora nodorum Leaf Blotch in Wheat

ABSTRACT Stagonospora nodorum leaf blotch is an economically important foliar disease in the major wheat-growing areas of the world. In related work, we identified a host-selective toxin (HST) produced by the S. nodorum isolate Sn2000 and determined the chromosomal location of the host gene (Snn1) conditioning sensitivity to the toxin using the International Triticeae Mapping Initiative mapping population and cytogenetic stocks. In this study, we used the same plant materials to identify quantitative trait loci (QTL) associated with resistance to fungal inoculations of Sn2000 and investigate the role of the toxin in causing disease. Disease reactions were scored at 5, 7, and 10 days postinoculation to evaluate changes in the degree of effectiveness of individual QTL. A major QTL was identified on the short arm of chromosome 1B, which coincided with the snn1 toxin-insensitivity gene. This locus explained 58% of the phenotypic variation for the 5-day reading but decreased to 27% for the 10-day reading, indicating that the toxin is most effective in the early stages of the interaction. In addition, relatively minor QTL were identified on chromosomes 3AS, 3DL, 4AL, 4BL, 5DL, 6AL, and 7BL, but not all minor QTL were significant for all readings and their effects varied. Multiple regression models explained from 68% of the phenotypic variation for the 5-day reading to 36% for the 10-day reading. The Chinese Spring nullisomic 1B tetrasomic 1D line and the Chinese Spring-Triticum dicoccoides disomic 1B chromosome substitution line, which were insensitive to SnTox1, were more resistant to the fungus than the rest of the nullisomictetrasomic and disomic chromosome substitution lines. Our results indicate that the toxin produced by isolate Sn2000 is a major virulence factor.