Yield Loss Caused by Heterodera avenae in Cereal Crops Grown in a Mediterranean Climate1

In south-eastern Australia, where large areas of cereal crops are grown in a Mediterranean climate, yield loss caused by Heterodera avenae is generally more severe than in Northern Europe. This appears to be due to differences in seasonal cropping patterns and the stages of crop growth when roots are exposed to larvae. Field observations and laboratory experiments show that, in Australia, crops ≪ sown early ≫, in late autumn, are less damaged than those ≪ sown late ≫. This is explained by the times of emergence and population density of larvae, by the nematode-fungus interaction and by the environmental conditions affecting plant growth, rather than by differences in the nematode or in host tolerance.     

The Status of Heterodera avenae on Cereals in New Zealand1

The cereal cyst nematode (Heterodera avenae) was discovered in New Zealand in 1975 on wheat and oats. It was not at that time causing appreciable economic losses in yield, presumably because usual management practice incorporated a good crop rotation with lucerne. However, now that the growing of cereals has become more profitable, farmers are tending to grow consecutive cereal crops and more damage from H. avenae is being experienced. On one farm, up to 9 % of an oat crop was lost due to this nematode. The biotype has not yet been determined.     

Global crop production and the efficacy of crop protection - current situation and future trends

Actual and potential crop losses of eight major food and cash crops have been estimated by evaluating data from literature and field experiments. Total losses were calculated from yield reductions due to pathogens, animal pests and weeds on a regional, continental and global level. Since 1965, worldwide production of most crops has increased considerably. Simultaneously, crop losses in wheat, potatoes, barley and rice increased by 4 to 10 percent, in maize, soybean, cotton and coffee losses remained unchanged or slightly decreased. The efficacy of crop protection practices was calculated as the percentage of potential losses prevented by control. The efficacy is highest in cotton (55 percent), it reaches only 34 to 38 percent in the food crops rice, wheat and maize. The variability among cropping areas is high: In Western Europe, 61 percent of potential crop losses is prevented, in North America and Oceania 44, in all other regions 38 percent. Due to the small share of Western Europe in worldwide production of 8 percent, the efficacy of actual crop protection worldwide is only 40 percent.In view of population growth and rising food demand crop production has to be increased substantially. As potential loss rates often increase with attainable yields high productivity largely depends on effective crop protection management. Scenarios for the production of food crops by the year 2025 in developed and in developing countries are given. Recent and future developments in crop protection can contribute to establish sustainability in agriculture and to preserve natural resources. However, although effective control methods have been developed for most biotic yield constraints, the use of crop protection products is regulated by economic considerations rather than by food demand.     

Reverse modelling to estimate yield losses caused by crop diseases

Yield loss analysis is critical to inform tactical and strategic decisions in crop health management, and requires quantification of three elements: the levels of injury caused by disease or pest, the actual (injured) yield, and the attainable (uninjured) yield. Reverse modelling allows reconstruction of an object or a process from limited information combined with a mathematical model. This approach is applied to estimate yield losses caused by diseases in winter wheat using a process‐based simulation model (WHEATPEST), in combination with field data generated by a network of experiments across France, where multiple disease injuries and actual yields, but not attainable yields, were measured. The analysis covers 70 [year × region × variety × crop management] combinations encompassing five years (2004–2008), four French regions, two winter wheat varieties (one high‐yielding and one hardy variety), and two levels of crop management corresponding to two levels of chemical intensification. The analysis involved three main successive modelling steps where actual yield, attainable yield and yield losses associated with individual diseases were simulated. Overall, simulated yield losses to combined diseases ranged from 0 to 4.2 t ha^?1, and averaged 0.80 t ha^?1. Septoria tritici blotch caused the highest mean yield loss of 0.66 t ha^?1. The results highlight the contribution of varietal improvement to agricultural sustainability and performances. Reverse modelling can be applied to other crops and diseases or pests, in order to estimate individual and combined disease yield losses.     

Occurrence of Polyscytalum pustulans, Phoma foveata and Fusarium solani var. coemleum in field soils in Scotland

The effectiveness of various methods for detecting three fungal potato pathogens was compared with artificially infested soil, naturally infested tuber-borne soil and field soil. In the spring of 1985 and 1986 field soils from 30 farms in north-east Scotland were sampled just before planting a seed potato crop and 6 months after harvesting such a crop. The minimum statutory gap between crops is 5 years. Polyscytalum pustulans was recovered from 32 out of 60 field soil samples taken 6 months after harvest while from fields sampled in the spring before a potato crop was planted the fungus was isolated from 10 out of 30 soils in 1985 and five out of 30 in 1986. Phoma foveata was isolated from only one out of 60 pre-planting soil samples but Fusarium solani var. coeruleum was recovered from eight of these soils.
Microplant bait plants were grown over 3 years at an experimental farm near Edinburgh in various fields at different intervals after a previous potato crop. Contamination by P . pustulans was not related to interval after potatoes between 1 - 7 years. No contamination was recorded in fields where potatoes had not been grown for more than 30 years.     

Effects of powdery mildew and weather on winter wheat yield. 2. Effects of mildew epidemics

Wheat yield losses caused by powdery mildew were computed based on effects of the disease on leaf photosynthesis. Powdery mildew was introduced in a crop model of wheat by quantification of five parameters, taking the vertical and horizontal distribution of mildew in the crop into account. The most important parameters were those of the mildew intensity, the distribution of mildew in the crop, and the effect of mildew on assimilation at light saturation. Measured mildew epidemics in field experiments in three different years, were used to compute yield losses. Computed losses were compared to measured losses. On average, computed yield loss approached measured, but measured yield loss was underestimated, especially in early mildew epidemics due to the computation of partitioning and reallocation of assimilates. Other processes which may cause an underestimation are described. The use of crop models as a method to upgrade disease management systems is discussed.Samenvatting Opbrengstderving van wintertarwe werd berekend aan de hand van het effect dat meeldauw heeft op de blad-fotosynthese. Een rekenmodel voor de gewasgroei van tarwe werd uitgebreid met meeldauw. Met inachtneming van de vertikale en horizontale verdeling van meeldauw in het gewas, werd meeldauw in het model gekwantificeerd door vijf parameters. De belangrijkste parameters waren die van de meeldauwintensiteit, de verdeling van meeldauw in het gewas en het effect van meeldauw op de assimilatie bij een overvloed aan licht. Epidemieën van meeldauw, gemeten in veldproeven in drie verschillende jaren, werden gebruikt om opbrengstdervingen te berekenen. Gemiddeld kwam deze redelijk overeen met de in de veldproeven gemeten opbrengstderving. De gemeten opbrengstderving werd echter onderschat, vooral bij vroege epidemieën van meeldauw door de wijze waarop de (her)verdeling van assimilaten wordt berekend. Andere mechanismen, die een onderschatting van opbrengstderving kunnen veroorzaken worden besproken. Of deze modellen als methode gebruikt kunnen worden om systemen voor de geleide bestrijding van ziekten te verbeteren wordt bediscussieerd.     

Prediction of competition between oilseed rape and Stellaria media

Ten experiments have investigated competition between winter oilseed rape and Stellaria media (common chickweed). Yield losses caused by this weed were often high, but differed greatly between experiments, 5% yield loss being calculated to be caused by 1.4–328 plants m^?2. Predictions of yield loss based on relative weed dry weights [weed dry weights/(crop + weed dry weights)] in December were somewhat less variable than those based on weed density, 5% yield loss being caused by 1.4–10.6% relative weed dry weight. The variations in yield loss were related to variations in the competitiveness of the oilseed rape and the S. media, caused by weather differences between years and sites, and the long period between weed assessment and harvest (8–10 months). However, despite the lack of precise relationships, there were indications that the greater the crop dry weights in December, the lower the final yield loss. Delayed sowing of oilseed rape until late September did not clearly increase the competitive effects of the weed compared with late August/early September sowings. Weed competition was not clearly affected by reduced crop density (44–113 plants m^?2), because of the compensatory ability of the lowest density. The results of the experiments are discussed in relation to the prediction of yield loss and, thus, possible adjustment of weed control strategies to meet expected crop losses.     

Integrated Control of Heterodera avenae1

Cereal cyst nematode is a major pathogen in southern Australia costing $40 to $80 million in lost production each year. Our research has shown that three chemicals applied with the seed in the drill row, viz. Counter (terbufos) granules, Vydate (oxamyl) as a seed dressing and Nemadi (ethylene dibromide), reduced Heterodera avenae damage and gave yield increases which are economical in the Australian wheat farming system. A plant assay of soil has been developed to assess potential damage by H. avenae before employing chemical control. Wheat yields 2 years after growing H. avenae-resistant Festiguay wheat were 0.4 to 1 t/ha higher than after other cultivars. Rotations with legumes alternating with wheat reduced damage from H. avenae. Wheat sown without cultivation (minimum tillage) resulted in less root damage from H. avenae and higher yields than when sown into cultivated soil.     

Estimating relative crop yield loss resulting from herbicide damage using crop ground cover or rated stunting, with maize and sethoxydim as a case study

The research goal was to determine whether crop damage from herbicides measured early in the growing season soon after treatment could be used to estimate relative crop yield loss. Percentage stunting was rated visually and percentage crop ground cover (i.e. percentage of the ground surface covered by vegetation) was determined from video photographs taken 2–4 weeks after sethoxydim-susceptible maize ( Zea mays L.) was sprayed with sethoxydim at various rates plus crop oil concentrate. Averaged over 3 years, relative percentage maize yield was a negative sigmoidal function of relative sethoxydim rates from 0.065× to 0.5×, where the 1× rate was 420 g a.i. ha⁻¹ ( r ² = 0.80). Relative maize yield was positively linearly related to percentage crop ground cover and negatively linearly related to rated percentage stunting averaged over 3 years. Linear regression models of relative maize yield vs. percentage maize ground cover explained only slightly more data variability ( r ² = 0.86) than did rated stunting ( r ² = 0.82) over 3 years. The advantages and disadvantages of rated stunting and crop ground cover as scientific measurements are discussed.     

The International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology

Abstract

A method for assessing the damage by insect pests to cowpeas is presented. A crop life table for cowpeas grown in northern Nigeria shows the estimated losses due to insect attack at various stages of growth of the plants. The potential loss in yield due to insects is over 90%, with 70% of this loss occuring during the flowering and pod formation stages.     

Critical period of weed control in transplanted chilli pepper

Summary Field experiments were conducted from 1991 to 1993 to determine the critical period of weed control in chilli pepper. The maximum weed-infested period ranged between 0.7 and 3.2 weeks after transplanting (WAT) at a 5% yield loss level. To prevent losses in total and marketable yields, weeds should be removed 2.1 or 0.9 WAT respectively. The end of the critical period decreased as the predetermined yield loss level increased from 2.5% to 10%. The minimum weed-free period ranged between 6.7 and 15.3 WAT at a 5% yield loss level depending on crop yield category. The chilli pepper crop required an average of 12.2 weeks of weed-free maintenance to avoid losses above 5%. Using a 5% yield loss level, the duration of the critical period of weed control was 14 weeks in 1991 and 11.2 weeks in 1993, but was shortened to 5.1 weeks in 1992. The results suggest that weeds must be controlled during the first half of the crop's growing season in order to prevent yield losses.     

A novel approach to estimating the competitive ability of Cirsium arvense in cereals using unmanned aerial vehicle imagery

Eight experiments were carried out in Denmark to determine the yield loss of spring barley due to Cirsium arvense in farmers' fields and to suggest and evaluate a novel approach for quantifying C. arvense infestation in large plots. Literature about the competitive ability of C. arvense is old, scattered and inconclusive, and existing models for estimating crop yield loss are based on data from North America. This study showed that C. arvense coverage could be quantified from unmanned aerial vehicle imagery using a manual image analysis procedure. This gave similar results as scoring the coverage. Yield loss of spring barley due to C. arvense infestation assessed at harvest was given by Y = 100·(1−exp(−0.00170·X)) where Y is the percentage of crop yield loss and X is the percentage of C. arvense coverage. The yield loss was much lower than estimates from models that have been developed in North America. It is speculated that the main reason for this is the later emergence of C. arvense than the crop due to lower soil temperatures in spring. Grain moisture increased linearly with C. arvense coverage: M = 0.0310·X where M is the proportional (%) increase in grain moisture and X is the proportion (%) of C. arvense coverage. Automated image analysis procedures are needed to estimate C. arvense coverage on field scales, and further experiments are needed to reveal whether the low competitive ability of C. arvense found in this study is representative for Northern Europe.     

Assessment of yield losses caused by chickpea chlorotic dwarf geminivirus in chickpea (Cicer arietinum) in India

Yield losses caused by chickpea chlorotic dwarf virus in chickpea were estimated by comparing uninfected and infected plants in the field at two locations in India. When infection was before flowering, yield losses of individual plants amounted to nearly 100% in the three cultivars studies. Plants that became infected during flowering had yield losses of 75–90%. Percentage of crop loss is likely to equal percentage of disease incidence, since plant densities in farmers' fields are probably too low to allow uninfected plants around infected ones to compensate the yield losses of infected plants.Submitted as Journal Article No. 1624 by ICRISAT.     

Crop damage and yield loss caused by two species of rodents in irrigated fields in northern Nigeria

We investigated the damage and yield loss caused by two rodent species, Arvicanthis niloticus and Mastomys (Praomys) natalensis, in cereal crops in fields near Kano, northern Nigeria from August, 1990 to April, 1992. Using the random cluster technique, we selected 100 clusters of 30 hills in each rice and wheat field, and assessed damage fortnightly, using the Cut Tiller Count method. In premature crops, damage increased from tillering stages to the dough stages. Differences in the percentages of damage (yield loss) in mature rice (4.8% in 1990 and 12.6% in 1991) and in wheat (30.0% in 1991 and 21.7% in 1992) were statistically significant between years. Severe yield losses in wheat, compared to low and moderate levels in rice (grown for the most part during the rains), were probably a result of greater consumption of the wheat, grown entirely by irrigation during the dry season when other rodent food sources were less abundant. Results of ANOVA showed significant effects of developmental stage of the crop, year of cultivation, and their interactions on the magnitude of crop damage.     

Studies of crop loss in potato blight caused by Phytophthora infestans

Relationships between healthy haulm area (HHA) and yield, and between losses of HHA and yield in the potato late blight system, were evaluated in several seasons and fields variously affected by the disease in Israel. The results showed that because of the different yield potential of potatoes cultivated in different conditions, evaluation of crop losses cannot be separated from evaluation of yield potentials of the crop as influenced by environmental and cultural factors.
In one calculation the yield and the HHA in the healthiest plot in each field were equated to 100% and losses in other plots were derived from comparisons with this plot. In such a calculation the relationships of yield loss to HHA loss in all fields and seasons fitted one regression equation, and a high correlation was obtained between both parameters. However, the actual haulm areas and yield weights differed widely from one field to another, even in the healthiest plots. Also, a similar percentage of destroyed haulms sometimes corresponded to different areas of the remaining haulms and to different yields. So no correlation was found between HHA and yields over all fields and seasons. Such a correlation was found only for several plots, variously affected by late blight, in the same field and season and in different fields and seasons yields responded in a different way to increases in HHA.     

Prediction of yield loss caused by Orobanche spp. in carrot and pea crops based on the soil seedbank

Root parasites of the genus Orobanche cause serious losses in many subtropical crops. Direct control options are very limited and crop yield loss can reach 100%. Prediction of potential damage in a crop before sowing or planting would support farmers in their choice of crop. This paper discusses the relationship between the number of Orobanche spp. seeds in the field and yield loss in peas (Pisum sativum L.) and carrots (Daucus carota L.) in Israel. Yield loss due to Orobanche crenata Forsk. in peas was 100% at high infestations, whereas in carrots when O. crenata and O. aegyptiaca were present it stabilized at about 50% for moderate infestations of 200 seeds per kg of soil. Statistical analyses related the yield loss from parasitism in peas and carrots to the numbers of Orobanche seeds remaining in the soil. A rectangular hyperbolic model, previously applied to competition data, fitted the data well. Confidence intervals for per cent yield loss were calculated using the bootstrap method. The practical applications of these models in predicting yield loss are discussed.     

Control of crop diseases through Integrated Crop Management to deliver climate-smart farming systems for low- and high-input crop production

Crop diseases affect crop yield and quality and cause significant losses of total food production worldwide. With the ever-increasing world population and decreasing land and water resources, there is a need not only to produce more food but also to reduce agricultural greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to mitigate climate change and avoid land use change and biodiversity loss. Thus, alternative climate-smart farming systems need to adapt to produce more food per hectare in a more sustainable way than conventional high-input farming systems. In addition to breeding new high-yielding cultivars adapted to future climates, there is a need to deploy Integrated Crop Management (ICM) strategies, relying less on synthetic inputs for fertilization and crop protection and less on fossil fuel-powered machinery to decrease yield losses due to pest and pathogens and guarantee food security. In this review, we compare some low-input farming systems to conventional agricultural systems with a focus on ICM solutions being developed to reduce synthetic inputs; these include crop genetic resistance to pathogens, intercropping, canopy architecture manipulation, and crop rotation. These techniques have potential to decrease crop disease frequency and severity by decreasing amounts and dispersal of pathogen inoculum and by producing microclimates that are less favourable for pathogen development, while decreasing GHG emissions and improving environmental sustainability. More research is needed to determine the best deployment of these ICM strategies in various cropping systems to maximize yield, crop protection, and other ecosystem services to address trade-offs between climate change and food security.     

Time of onset of competition and effects of various fractions of an Avena fatua L. population on spring barley

The growth and competition of wild oats (Avena fatua L.) emerging at different times, and the time of onset of competition by them were studied using natural populations in spring barley. In one experiment in 1972, wild oats emerging in the 0–0?5, 0?5–2?5, 2?5–4 crop leaf stages at densities of 54, 46, 15 m ^?2 respectively were allowed to compete all season with the crcp. These gave rise to 82, 17 and l% of all seed shed and caused 16%, and two non-significant yield losses respectively. In two other experiments in 1973, nearly all the wild oats that caused yield losses had emerged by the crop 2˙45 leaf stage. Where wild oats emerging up to the crop 2?5 leaf stage were removed, the later ones did not compensate by making extra growth. In one of these experiments in which densities of crop and weed were 416 and 414 m ², and in the other where they were 295 and 294 m ² respectively, grain yield losses were significant if the wild oats remained in the crop until the crop had 2?5–4?5 leaves and 4?5–6?5 leaves respectively. In a third experiment in 1973 with initial densities of 464 wild oats and 336 barley plants m ^?2, and where a top dressing of nitrogen was given at the crop 3–4 leaf stage, unlike the other two experiments in 1973 where all nitrogen was applied at sowing, no yield losses resulted unless the wild oats remained in the crop until after the crop 6 leaf stage.     

Does yield loss due to weed competition differ between organic and conventional cropping systems?

High weed abundance in organic crops is thought to be a key factor contributing to the greater yield loss in organic as compared with conventional cropping systems. However, even with greater weed densities than conventional systems, some organic systems have yields comparable to conventional systems, suggesting that cropping systems might differ in yield loss due to weed competition. The diversity in soil nutrient resources due to diversity in crop rotations and variable inputs might enhance crop tolerance to weed competition. We assessed the long‐term effects of contrasting levels of crop rotations (low, medium and high diversity) on weed density, weed biomass and wheat yield loss in organic and no‐till conventional cropping systems using a microplot study within a long‐term cropping systems trial at Scott, Saskatchewan, Canada. Weed density and biomass were found to be four times higher in the organic systems than in the conventional systems. Under standard weed management practices, organic had 44% lower yield than the conventional system. Lower yields in organic, even without weed competition, suggest that the lower yields are due to low soil productivity rather than weed competition. No differences in yield loss were observed among the organic and conventional systems or among the diverse crop rotations. We conclude that the organic management practices and/or increased crop rotation diversity did not enhance yield or reduce yield loss due to weed competition, due to the factors associated with lower soil fertility.     

Influence of soil moisture on the competitive ability and seed dormancy of Sinapis arvensis in spring wheat

Two experiments were carried out, one in 1995 and one in 1997, to investigate the competitive abilities of two spring wheat cultivars with Sinapis arvensis L. The spring wheat cultivars (Baldus and Canon) of contrasting growth habit were grown with and without S. arvensis under two different moisture regimes (10% and 70% of field capacity). In 1995, S. arvensis was found to be less competitive when subjected to moisture stress, resulting in smaller wheat yield losses in dry soil than in moist soil. In both years, seed production of S. arvensis was reduced by competition and moisture stress, and the seeds produced by plants that had been grown in drier soil were small and had negligible dormancy. Hence, in dry conditions, the competitiveness of S. arvensis and its potential to produce persistent seed may be reduced. Some differences between the two wheat cultivars were evident: cv. Baldus was more competitive against S. arvensis than cv. Canon. This could be attributed to differences in canopy structure.