Disease levels in winter wheat,rye and triticale grown on soil artificially inoculated withCephalosporium gramineum

Field experiments with winter cereals grown on soil inoculated withC. gramineum showed that wheat and rye cultivars possess some resistance to the pathogen, while the triticale cultivars were the most susceptible. Higher tolerance of the tested wheat cultivars was connected mainly with slow development of disease symptoms; rye cultivars had, on average, lower percentages of plants infected byC. gramineum. The greatest variation in susceptibility toC. gramineum occurred among the selected cultivars of triticale.     

The relative resistance of wheat, rye and triticale to take-all caused by Gaeumannomyces graminis

In seven field experiments conducted over 6 years with a wide range of disease severities, triticale was intermediate in resistance to Gaeumannomyces graminis between wheat (susceptible) and rye (resistant). Use of triticale is suggested as an immediately available means of introducing take-all resistance into cereal cultivation.
Octoploid triticale was slightly more susceptible than hexaploid triticale. There was little evidence of consistent variation in resistance among wheat or rye cultivars but a few hexaploid triticale cultivars varied in resistance. The resistance of triticale was not reliably expressed in the glasshouse tests used, so selection for resistance to take-all in a breeding programme would need to be conducted in the field. Individual pairs of rye chromosomes added to wheat did not significantly reduce its susceptibility. The feasibility of transferring the resistance of rye to wheat is considered.     

Assessing new SSR markers for utility and informativeness in genetic studies of brown rust fungi on wheat,triticale, and rye

The aim of the present study was to validate new simple-sequence repeat (SSR) markers and use them to assess genetic variability among 24 isolates of Puccinia triticina collected from wheat (Pt-wheat) and triticale (Pt-triticale), and 15 isolates of P. recondita f. sp. secalis (Prs) collected from rye. The Pt and Prs isolates were tested for virulence on a set of 35 Thatcher wheat near-isogenic lines, eight rye lines with known resistance genes, and 53 triticale cultivars with uncharacterized leaf rust resistance. Molecular genotypes were determined using a newly developed set of 34 SSR microsatellite primer pairs. All SSR markers tested on Pt isolates successfully amplified fragments of appropriate size. When tested on the Prs isolates, 21 out of the 34 Pt SSRs amplified expected fragments. Sixteen of these 21 SSRs were polymorphic, providing for the first time microsatellite markers to study genetic variation in Prs. Based on virulence data, variation among Prs isolates was low, probably due to the small number of rye differential lines available. Much higher variation for virulence was observed within the collection of Pt isolates from wheat and triticale, and two separate groups were established with mixed host origin. Substantial genetic variation was detected among the isolates studied with the SSR markers, assuming two different models of SSR evolution (infinite alleles model and stepwise mutation model). The newly developed set of SSR markers proved their effectiveness in detecting genetic variation and should be useful in further population genetics investigations of the two pathogens.     

Molecular variation in populations of Erysiphe graminis on barley, oats and rye

DNA isolated from the formae speciales of Erysiphe graminis that grow on barley, wheat, rye and oats was studied using restriction endonucleases and DNA/DNA hybridization procedures. DNA fragments were purified by molecular cloning and a few containing repeated sequences were used to demonstrate the many variations in restriction fragments both within and between the four formae speciales. In an analysis of six single-colony isolates of the barley mildew pathogen collected from different UK sites in different years, more than a quarter of the fragments scored varied among isolates. One isolate, with an uncommon pathogenicity character, differed from the remainder in the distribution of DNA bands. Isolates of rye mildew were also distinct from one another but isolates of oat mildew from a population of similar size appeared to belong to a single clone.
It is concluded that the chromosomes of E. graminis contain many families of dispersed repeated sequences and that there may be extensive polymorphism for restriction endonuclease cleavage sites associated with these repeats. Such unselected polymorphisms could be useful in helping to understand and discriminate among the factors affecting population structure in the pathogen as it responds to different agricultural practices.     

陇东旱塬区秋播小黑麦与黑麦立体种植模式探究

研究5个饲用小黑麦（× Triticosecale Wittmack）品种（‘甘农2号’，‘甘农3号’，‘甘农4号’，‘甘农7号’，‘藏饲1号’）分别与‘甘农1号’黑麦（Secale cereale ‘Gannong No.1’）以不同混播比例（100∶0, 90∶10, 80∶20, 70∶30, 60∶40, 50∶50, 0∶100）进行立体种植的生产性能和营养价值研究，为陇东旱塬区秋播小黑麦和黑麦立体种植提供理论依据。结果表明，陇东旱塬区B1（‘甘农2号’小黑麦与‘甘农1号’黑麦混播）和B2组合（‘甘农3号’与‘甘农1号’黑麦混播）以不同比例混播的平均干草产量显著高于B5（‘藏饲1号’小黑麦与‘甘农1号’黑麦）组合，分别提高21.68%和18.80%；不同小黑麦品种与‘甘农1号’黑麦以A6（50∶50）的比例混播时，平均干草产量显著高于小黑麦单播，且高于黑麦单播，增幅分别为22.94%和3.05%；基于干草产量、营养价值和倒伏率的综合评价表明，‘甘农3号’小黑麦与‘甘农1号’黑麦以70∶30的比例混播进行立体种植时效果最好，适宜在陇东旱塬区及其他气候相似区推广种植。     

Suppression of Digitaria sanguinalis and Amaranthus palmeri using autumn-sown glucosinolate-producing cover crops in organically grown bell pepper

Experiments were conducted to compare growth characteristics, biomass production and glucosinolate content of seven autumn‐planted glucosinolate‐producing cover crops that were terminated the following spring. The control of Digitaria sanguinalis and Amaranthus palmeri following cover crop incorporation into soil was characterised and fruit yields of bell pepper transplanted into cover crop‐amended soil were determined. Differences in glucosinolate concentration and composition were noted between cover crop roots and shoots and among cover crops. Total biomass production by cover crops ranged from 103 g m⁻² for garden cress to 894 g m⁻² for Indian mustard (F‐E75), but cover crop biomass was not correlated with D. sanguinalis and A. palmeri control. D. sanguinalis and A. palmeri control in bell pepper varied by cover crop. D. sanguinalis control by cover crops ranged from 38% to 79%, and A. palmeri control was 23% to 48% at 4 weeks after transplanting (WATP) bell pepper in 2004. D. sanguinalis control was positively correlated with total glucosinolate production, but A. palmeri control was not. D. sanguinalis control in 2005 ranged from 0% to 38% at 2 WATP. In the absence of weeds, cover crops did not negatively affect fruit yields which were often higher than in the absence of a cover crop. Glucosinolate‐producing cover crops are not a stand‐alone weed management strategy, but some will provide early season control of D. sanguinalis and A. palmeri without having a negative effect on transplanted bell pepper.     

Seed production and subsequent seed germination of Senecio vulgaris (groundsel) grown alone or in autumn-sown crops

Senecio vulgaris is a common weed of agriculture in the UK, but is also of food value to invertebrates and birds. Thus, it may be beneficial to retain it within agricultural ecosystems to enhance overall biodiversity. A less intensive approach to weed management requires a sound understanding of weed population dynamics so as to avoid unacceptable population growth. Experiments were carried out in 2003 and 2004 to assess seed production, and subsequent germination, by S. vulgaris growing alone, in winter wheat, or in winter field beans. Plant and seed samples were collected during May and June. There was a strong allometric relationship between capsule number and plant weight, irrespective of the year or the presence of crop competition. Numbers of seeds/capsule varied slightly from 51 to 66 seeds per capsule. Plants growing alone were estimated to produce 8471 to 12 887 seeds per plant, whilst those in wheat only 923 to 2156. Germination tests in Petri dishes in incubators showed that virtually all seeds were viable and germinated under daily alternating light:dark conditions within 10 days. Seeds in continuous dark germinated less readily, reaching only 30% after 21 days. On the basis of this and other published work, it would appear that the retention of S. vulgaris in arable fields will not pose a major threat to the long-term viability of crop production.     

Pathogenicity of four Pythium species to wheat, barley, peas and lentils

Pythium heterothallicum, P. irregulare, P. torulosum and P. ultimum var. sporangiiferum were compared for pathogenicity to seedlings of winter wheat, spring barley, lentils and peas in growth chambers at 5, 10, 15, 20 and 25 C. These four fungi are among the most commonly isolated Pythium species from wheat roots and wheat-field soils in eastern Washington and northern Idaho, USA, where wheat, spring barley, lentils and peas are grown in various rotations. Pathogenicity was determined in artificially infested soils (500 propagules per g) based on ability to cause pre-emergence death and post-emergence stunting of seedlings. P. ultimum var. sporangiiferum caused significant pre-emergence death of the wheat at 15–25 C, lentils at 10–25 C. and peas at 5 25 C. P. irregulare caused pre-emergence death only of peas and only at 5 C. With the possible exception of lentils at 25 C, P. heterothallcum and P. torulosum caused no pre-emergence death of any of the four plant species. None of the species caused pre-emergence death of spring barley. P. ultimum var. sporangiiferum caused the most post-emergence stunting of wheat, peas and lentils at 10 C and above. Pythium irregulare caused as much or more stunting than P. ultimum var. sporangiiferum on wheat, lentils and peas at 5 C, and was the most pathogenic species on barley at 10, 20 and 25 C. P. irregulare caused significantly more post-emergence stunting of wheat at 5 C with than without chaff (added as a food base for the pathogen); this was not offset by adding ammonium sulphate with the chaff.     

大麦黄矮病毒侵染小麦miRNA鉴定和特征分析

大麦黄矮病毒(barley yellow dwarf viruses, BYDVs)引起的小麦黄矮病严重威胁我国麦类生产,造成严重经济损失。植物中的miRNA调控植物生长发育、信号转导及对外界压力的反应,通过调控植物抗性基因的表达影响植物与病原物的互作。本研究对感染BYDV-GAV后3 d、7 d及健康对照的‘小偃6号’小麦样品进行miRNA测序,合并去冗余后分别得到99、96、95个已知的miRNA序列和806、809、1 024个新miRNA序列。对这些miRNA进行差异表达分析,BYDV-GAV侵染后3 d和7 d的小麦样品,与对照相比上调表达的miRNA数量分别为3个和7个,下调表达的为14个和12个。将差异表达的miRNA利用psRNATarget进行靶基因预测,共得到1 254个靶标基因。靶基因的KEGG和GO富集分析,进一步明确了其功能及作用通路。对14个病毒病症状相关的靶基因进行定量分析,结果表明随病毒侵染时间的延长,这些靶基因出现差异性表达,显示miRNA参与了寄主与病毒的互作。研究结果有助于揭示BYDV-GAV与寄主小麦的互作机理。     

Problems with disseminating information on disease control in wheat and barley to farmers

Plant pathologists have traditionally worked in the area of clarifying and understanding the disease cycles of specific diseases, factors influencing epidemiology, yield loss potential and host-pathogen interactions in order to be able to minimise the disease risk, build warning systems or recommend specific control thresholds in relation to the application of fungicides. The decision support system Crop Protection Online (CPO) is an example of a threshold-based system that determines economically viable fungicide strategies. The system is based on using appropriate doses aimed at minimising the overall pesticide input. CPO is used widely by advisors and many of the thresholds are generally accepted and disseminated through newsletters. The national figures for the use of fungicides in cereals have shown a major reduction during the last 20 years and their use today is much in line with the level that can be achieved from using CPO as indicated from validation trials. The number of end-users among farmers has been stable at around 3% during the last 10 years (800–1,000 farmers). Major hurdles in increasing the number of users are believed to be: (1) the requirements for carrying out assessments in the field, (2) farm sizes getting larger, leaving less time for decision making for individual fields, (3) lack of economic incentives to change from standard treatments, (4) the failure of decision support systems to interact with other computer-based programmes on the farm, (5) the lack of compatibility of decision support systems with farmers’ ways of making decisions on crop protection in general, (6) the need for direct interactions with advisors. A sociological investigation into the farmers’ way of making decisions in the area of crop protection has shown that arable farmers can be divided into three major groups: (a) systems-orientated farmers, (b) experienced-based farmers and (c) advisory-orientated farmers. The information required by these three groups is different and has to be looked at individually from the end-user’s perspective rather than from the scientist’s perspective. New ways of entering the decision support system where specific field inspections are omitted and where regional disease data are relied on, have been investigated and tested in field trials. The results show possibilities for further developments in that direction, which might be one way of gaining more end-users.     

大麦黄矮病毒侵染小麦miRNA鉴定和特征分析

 大麦黄矮病毒(barley yellow dwarf viruses,BYDVs)引起的小麦黄矮病严重威胁我国麦类生产,造成严重经济损失。植物中的miRNA调控植物生长发育、信号转导及对外界压力的反应,通过调控植物抗性基因的表达影响植物与病原物的互作。本研究对感染BYDV-GAV 后3 d、7 d及健康对照的‘小偃6号'小麦样品进行miRNA测序,合并去冗余后分别得到99、96、95个已知的miRNA序列和806、809、1 024个新miRNA序列。对这些miRNA进行差异表达分析,BYDV-GAV侵染后3 d和7 d的小麦样品,与对照相比上调表达的miRNA数量分别为3个和7个,下调表达的为14个和12个。将差异表达的miRNA利用psRNATarget进行靶基因预测,共得到1 254个靶标基因。靶基因的KEGG和GO富集分析,进一步明确了其功能及作用通路。对14个病毒病症状相关的靶基因进行定量分析,结果表明随病毒侵染时间的延长,这些靶基因出现差异性表达,显示miRNA参与了寄主与病毒的互作。研究结果有助于揭示BYDV-GAV与寄主小麦的互作机理。     

Rhizoctonia species and anastomosis groups isolated from barley and wheat in Erzurum, Turkey

Ninety-eight isolates of Rhizoctonia spp. were obtained from barley and wheat grown in Erzurum, Turkey. Of these, 78% were Rhizoctonia solani (AG-2 type 1, AG-3, AG-4, AG-5 and AG-11), 10% were binucleate Rhizoctonia (AG-I and AG-K) and the remainder were Waitea circinata var circinata ( Rhizoctonia sp.). Among the binucleate Rhizoctonia , AG-I was not recovered from barley. In pathogenicity tests on barley and wheat, the highest disease severity was caused by isolates of AG-4 and AG-11, whereas isolates of AG-2 type 1, AG-3, AG-5 and W. c . var  circinata were moderately virulent. Isolates of binucleate Rhizoctonia were all nonpathogenic. This is the first report of R. solani AG-11 and W. c . var  circinata from Turkey.     

Marker-assisted selection for disease resistance in wheat and barley breeding

Marker-assisted selection (MAS) provides opportunities for enhancing the response from selection because molecular markers can be applied at the seedling stage, with high precision and reductions in cost. About each of 50 genes conferring monogenic resistances and hundreds of quantitative trait loci (QTL) for quantitative disease resistances have been reported in wheat and barley. For detecting single-major gene resistance, MAS could be easily applied, but is often not necessary because the resistances are selected phenotypically. In quantitative disease resistances, MAS would be very useful, but the individual QTL often have small effects. Additionally, only a few monogenic resistances are durable and only a few QTL with high effects have been successfully transferred into elite breeding material. Further economic and biological constraints, e.g., a low return of investment in small-grain cereal breeding, lack of diagnostic markers, and the prevalence of QTL-background effects, hinder the broad implementation of MAS. Examples in which MAS has been successfully applied to practical breeding are the wheat rust resistance genes Lr34 and Yr36, the eyespot resistance gene Pch1, the recessive resistance genes rym4/rym5 to barley yellow mosaic viruses, mlo to barley powdery mildew, and two QTL for resistance to Fusarium head blight in wheat (Fhb1 and Qfhs.ifa-5A). Newly identified broad-spectrum resistance genes/QTL conferring resistance to multiple taxa of pathogens offer additional perspectives for MAS. In the future, chip-based, high-throughput genotyping platforms and the introduction of genomic selection will reduce the current problems of integrating MAS in practical breeding programs and open new avenues for a molecular-based resistance breeding.     

Distribution of tridemorph and its metabolites in barley plants grown to maturity

The distribution of tridemorph residues in previously treated mature barley plants has been determined using a specific g.l.c. method. Tridemorph residues were found in grain, awns, leaves, rachis and stems, the amount of residue in the grain appearing to be variety-specific.     

Bromine residues in potato and wheat crops grown in soil fumigated with methyl bromide

The bromine content of potato tubers grown in soil fumigated with methyl bromide at 487 and 975 kg/ha (1 lb and 2 lb/100 ft2) averaged 170 and 280 mg/kg of dry weight. Most of the bromine was in the outer layers of the tubers; peeled tubers has less than 100 mg/kg, which remained after boiling. Potato haulm contained 4000 or 6700 mg/kg bromine respectively for the two rates of application. The bromine content of wheat grain grown after potatoes depended on the rate of application of methyl bromide and the time interval between treatment and wheat crop. Wheat grain harvested 31/2 21/2 and 11/2 years after fumigation with methyl bromide at 975 kg/ha had mean bromine contents of 4.5, 15 and 44 mg/kg. but the amounts in grain from plots having the same treatments varied more than two-fold; wheat grain harvested 11/2 years after fumigation at 487 kg/ha contained 23 mg bromine/kg. Wheat yields were unaffected by fumigation.     

Effects of different cultivated or weed grasses, grown as pure stands or in combination with wheat, on take-all and its suppression in subsequent wheat crops

Grass species were grown in plots, as pure stands or mixed with wheat, after a sequence of wheat crops in which take-all ( Gaeumannomyces graminis var. tritici ) had developed. Annual brome grasses maintained take-all inoculum in the soil as well as wheat (grown as a continuous sequence), and much better than cultivated species with a perennial habit. Take-all developed more in wheat grown after Anisantha sterilis (barren brome) or Bromus secalinus (rye brome), with or without wheat, than in continuous grass-free wheat in the same year, where take-all decline was apparently occurring. It was equally or more severe, however, in wheat grown after Lolium perenne (rye-grass) or Festuca arundinacea (tall fescue), despite these species having left the least inoculum in the soil. It was most severe in plots where these two grasses had been grown as mixtures with wheat. It is postulated that the presence of these grasses inhibited the development of take-all-suppressive microbiota that had developed in the grass-free wheat crops. The effects of the grasses appeared to be temporary, as amounts of take-all in a second subsequent winter wheat test crop were similar after all treatments. These results have important implications for take-all risk in wheat and, perhaps, other cereal crops grown after grass weed-infested cereals or after set-aside or similar 1-year covers containing weeds or sown grasses, especially in combination with cereal volunteers. They also indicate that grasses might be used experimentally in wheat crop sequences for investigating the mechanisms of suppression of, and conduciveness to, take-all.     

Real-time weed detection, decision making and patch spraying in maize, sugarbeet, winter wheat and winter barley

Information on temporal and spatial variation in weed seedling populations within agricultural fields is very important for weed population assessment and management. Most of all, it allows a potential reduction in herbicide use, when post‐emergence herbicides are only applied to field sections with weed infestation levels higher than the economic weed threshold; a review of such work is provided. This paper presents a system for site‐specific weed control in sugarbeet (Beta vulgaris L.), maize (Zea mays L.), winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) and winter barley (Hordeum vulgare L.), including online weed detection using digital image analysis, computer‐based decision making and global positioning systems (GPS)‐controlled patch spraying. In a 4‐year study, herbicide use with this map‐based approach was reduced in winter cereals by 60% for herbicides against broad‐leaved weeds and 90% for grass weed herbicides. In sugarbeet and maize, average savings for grass weed herbicides were 78% in maize and 36% in sugarbeet. For herbicides against broad‐leaved weeds, 11% were saved in maize and 41% in sugarbeet.     

Yield losses in weed-free wheat and barley due to post-emergence herbicides

The tolerance of weed-free wheat and barley to a range of herbicides (bromoxynil, methabenzthiazuron, MCPA, bromoxynil + MCPA. linuron, prometryne, diuron, 2,4-D ester and 2,4-D amine) when applied at the crop three-leaf stage, was examined over the 5-year period 1968–72. All chemicals lowered grain yields to some extent, but the variation between chemicals was greater for wheat than for barley. In both crops, methabenzthiazuron was the safest chemical causing only small (<2·0%,) yield losses at rates up to 2·25 kg a.i./ha. At this rate of application yield losses of up to 36% were recorded for the substituted urea derivatives. Both crops had a low tolerance to 2,4-D ester and amine. Yield losses from bromoxynil, bromoxynil + MCPA and MCPA were similar, varying from 4 to 8% al 0·5 kg a.i./ha to 9–24% at 2·25 kg a.i./ha. Pertes de rendement dans le blé et l'orge provoquées, en l'absence de mauvaises herbes, par des herbicides de postlevée Pendant une période de 5 années (1968–1972) les auteurs ont examiné la résistance du béet de l'orge. Traités, en l'absence de mauvaises herbes, au stade 3 feuilles, avec une série d'herbicidcs (bromoxynil, méthabenzthiazuron, MCPA, bromoxynil-i-MCPA, linuron, prométrync. ditiron, 2,4-D ester et 2,4-D a mine). Tous ces produits ont diminué les rendements en grains dans des proportions variées, mais la variation entre produits a été plus grande pour le blé que pour l'orge. Pour les deux céréales, le méthabenzlhiazuron a été le produit le moins toxique, provotjuant seulement de faibles penes de rendement inférieurcs à 2,0%, à des doses allant jusquà 2,25 kg/m.a/ha. A cette dose d'application, des pertes de rendement allant jusquà 36% ont élé enregistrées avec des urées substituées. Les deux éréles ont manifesté uoe faible resistance au 2,4-D estr et amine. Les pertes de rendement provoquées par le bromoxynil, le bromoxynil + MCPA, et le MCPA ont été analogues, variant de 4 à 8% pour 0,5 kg/m.a./ha, jusqu’à 9 à 24% pour 2,5 kg/m.a./ha. Ertragsverluste durch Nachaufiatifherbizide in unkrautfreiem Weizen und Gerste In unkrautfreien Weizen- und Gerstebestánden wurde in fünfjáhrigen Versuthcn (1968–72) die Toleranz der beiden Arten gegenüber folgenden Herbiziden untersucht: Bromoxynil, Methabenzthiazuron, MCPA, Bromoxynil + MCPA. Linuron, Prometryn, Diuron, 2,4-D-Eister und 2,4-D-Amin- salz. Die Behandlung erfolgte jeweils im 3-Blattstadium. Alle Verbindungen erniedrigten zu einem gewissen Grad den kornertrag. Beim Weizen waren aber die Unterschiede zwischen den verschiedenen Herbiziden grösser als bei der Gerste. Methabenzthiazuron war bei Aufwandmengen bis zu 2.25 kg A.S./ha in beiden Getreidearten das sicherste Herbizid und verursachte nur geringe Ertragsdepressionen (<2%). Bei dieser Aufwandmenge wurden bei den Harn-stoffherbiziden bis zu 36% Ertragsverlust festgestellt. Gegen 2,4-D-Ester und 2,4-D-Aminsalz waren Weizen und Gerste wenig tolerant. Die Ertragsverluste durch Bromoxynil, Bromoxynil + MCPA und MCPA waren etwa gleich und betrugen 4–8% bei 0.5 kg A.S./ha bis 9–24% bei 2,25 kg A.S./ha.