Wind-mediated spread of Rice yellow mottle virus (RYMV) in irrigated rice crops

A study was carried out to demonstrate that Rice yellow mottle virus (RYMV), a virus known to be transmitted by beetles, can spread between rice plants by direct leaf contact caused by wind. Almost all healthy plants surrounding an infected plant became infected when exposed to a fan blowing for 15 min at a distance of 50 cm. Spread of RYMV by plant contact, mediated by wind, was also demonstrated in field experiments, the extent of spread depending on plant density. Infection was almost 10 times higher in plots with a density of 33 plants m⁻² than in plots with 16 plants m⁻². Less spread was observed in plots protected by 1·5 m high windscreens. It is suggested that wind-mediated spread of RYMV may result from abrasive contact between leaves of plants.     

2017年我国小麦条锈病流行大尺度时空动态分析

2017年小麦条锈病在我国大范围流行,为明确大流行年份小麦条锈病时空动态,本研究通过在全国小麦主产省区定期调查小麦条锈病发生情况,并在总结2017年我国小麦条锈病流行特点的基础上,分析了小麦条锈病在县域水平随时间发展及其在空间上的分布和动态。结果表明,2017年小麦条锈病在我国黄淮海麦区大范围流行,发生面积达555.66万hm²,主要发生麦区平均病叶率为2.70%~40.00%、病害严重度为7.6%~45.2%、病害扩散速率为0.007~0.140;病害发生范围波及全国18个省（区、市）866个县,向北扩散至北纬41°的内蒙古五原县,向东扩散至东经121°的山东省烟台市和威海市。     

Spread of faba bean rust over a discontinuous field

Spatio-temporal progress of an epidemic of faba bean rust was monitored over a discontinuous field. Trap plots were sown at increasing distances from a source plot, in the centre of which plants were inoculated. Disease spread in the source plot followed a focal pattern, with a radial velocity of expansion slightly lower than 0.1 m per day. At the end of the experiment, all trap plots had been infected, and two of the most distant ones showed unexpected high disease severity. Using a three-dimension model of disease progress, we showed that the epidemics on the scales of the source plot and of the trap plots could not be combined into a single epidemic on the whole-field scale. The epidemics had equivalent infection rates on both scales, but changing the scale dramatically affected their distance parameter. The epidemic in the source plot could have been caused by a short-distance, high-frequency, deterministic mechanism of spore dispersal, whereas infection of the trap plots could have been caused by a long-distance, low-frequency stochastic mechanism of spore dispersal. Although our results agreed with the predictions of a simulation model postulating these two mechanisms, alternative hypotheses which could also explain the observed disease pattern remained to be tested.     

Velocity of spread of wheat stripe rust epidemics

ABSTRACT Controversy has long existed over whether plant disease epidemics spread with constant or with increasing velocity. We conducted largescale field experiments with wheat stripe rust at Madras and Hermiston, Oregon, where natural stripe rust epidemics were rare, to test these competing models. Data from three location-years were available for analysis. A susceptible winter wheat cultivar was planted in pure stand and also in a 1:4 or 1:1 mixture with a cultivar immune to the stripe rust race utilized in the experiments. Plots were 6.1 m wide and varied from 73 to 171 m in length. A 1.5 by 1.5-m focus was inoculated in either the center (2001) or upwind of the center (2002 and 2003) of each plot. Disease severity was evaluated weekly throughout the epidemics in each plot at the same points along a transect running upwind and downwind from the focus. Velocity of spread was calculated from the severity data and regressed separately on time and on distance from the focus. In all location-years and treatments, and at all levels of disease severity, velocity consistently increased linearly with distance, at an average rate of 0.59 m/week per m, and exponentially with time. Further, across epidemics there was a significant positive relationship between the apparent infection rate, r, and the rate of velocity increase in both space and time. These findings have important implications for plant diseases with a focal or partially focal character, and in particular for the effectiveness of ratereducing disease management strategies at different spatial scales.     

Size, shape and intensity of aggregation of take-all disease during natural epidemics in second wheat crops

Point pattern analysis (fitting of the beta-binomial distribution and binary form of power law) was used to describe the spatial pattern of natural take-all epidemics (caused by Gaeumannomyces graminis var. tritici ) on a second consecutive crop of winter wheat in plots under different cropping practices that could have an impact on the quantity and spatial distribution of primary inoculum, and on the spread of the disease. The spatial pattern of take-all was aggregated in 48% of the datasets when disease incidence was assessed at the plant level and in 83% when it was assessed at the root level. Clusters of diseased roots were in general less than 1 m in diameter for crown roots and 1–1·5 m for seminal roots; when present, clusters of diseased plants were 2–2·5 m in diameter. Anisotropy of the spatial pattern was detected and could be linked to soil cultivation. Clusters did not increase in size over the cropping season, but increased spatial heterogeneity of the disease level was observed, corresponding to local disease amplification within clusters. The relative influences of autonomous spread and inoculum dispersal on the size and shape of clusters are discussed.     

Disease severity and yield of pure-line wheat cultivars and mixtures in the presence of eyespot, yellow rust, and their combination

Five winter wheat cultivars, six two-component cultivar mixtures, and one four-way mixture were grown in the presence of yellow rust, eyespot, both diseases, and neither disease for three seasons. On average, mixtures reduced the severity of yellow rust relative to their component pure stands by 53%. The four-component mixture provided better yellow rust control than did the two-way mixtures. Eyespot severity was reduced through mixing only in the absence of yellow rust and by only three of the seven mixtures (mean reduction = 13%). Yellow rust was 13% less severe in the presence of eyespot, and eyespot was 10% more severe in the presence of yellow rust. Averaged over all years, the mixtures increased yield relative to the pure stands by 6·2, 1·7, 7·1, and 1·3% in the presence of yellow rust, eyespot, both diseases, and neither disease, respectively. Two mixtures provided significant yield increases over the means of their component pure stands (7% and 9%) in the presence of eyespot even though one of them did not significantly reduce eyespot severity. Accounting for all disease treatments and years, four mixtures provided distinctly higher yield increases than the other three. In mixtures containing a resistant cultivar and a cultivar susceptible to eyespot, yield loss by the susceptible cultivar was not compensated for by increased yield of the resistant cultivar. The mixtures showed improved yield stability relative to the pure stands, with the four-component mixture being particularly stable.     

Spatial and temporal spread of powdery mildew (Erysiphe pisi) in peas (Pisum sativum) varying in quantitative resistance

A field experiment was conducted to assess the progress in time and spread in space of powdery mildew (caused by Erysiphe pisi ) in pea ( Pisum sativum ) cultivars differing in resistance to the disease. Disease severity (proportion of leaf area infected) was measured in 19 × 23 m plots of cultivars Pania and Bolero (both susceptible) and Quantum (quantitatively resistant). Inoculum on infected plants was introduced into the centre of each plot. Leaves (nodes) were divided into three groups within the canopy (lower, middle, upper) at each assessment because of the large range in disease severity vertically within the plants. Disease severity on leaves at upper nodes was less than 4% until the final assessment 35 days after inoculation. Exponential disease progress curves were fitted to disease severity data from leaves at middle nodes. The mean disease relative growth rate was greater on Quantum than on Pania or Bolero, but it was delayed, resulting in an overall lower disease severity on Quantum. Gompertz growth curves were fitted to disease progress on leaves at lower nodes. Disease progress on Quantum was delayed compared with Pania and Bolero. The average daily rates of increase in disease severity from Gompertz curves did not differ between the cultivars on these leaves. Disease gradients in the plots from the inoculum focus to 12 m were detected at early stages of the epidemic, but the effects of background inoculum inputs and the rate of disease progress meant that these gradients decreased with time as the disease epidemic intensified. Spread was rapid, and there were no statistically significant differences between cultivar isopathic rates (Pania 2.2, Quantum 2.9 and Bolero 4.0 m d⁻¹).     

PANCRIN, a prototype model of the pandemic cultivar-race interaction of yellow rust on wheat in China

The pandemic of yellow rust on wheat in China, including cultivar-race interactions at the population level, is described by a prototype model (PANCRIN). As the framework of this model, the main epidemic system of wheat yellow rust in China was divided into 11 epidemiological regions. The major parameters are R, the rate of epidemic progress of each region in each month, determined by regional climatological factors and cultivar-race interactions; DIL, the dilution coefficient of inter-regional longdistance dissemination of this disease, determined mainly by distance; and F, fitness values of the pathogen on different cultivar-race combinations. With cultivar deployment, initial disease amount, and initial race frequency as inputs, this model can output the disease amount on each cultivar and the race frequencies of each region. Results of preliminary simulation experiments tallied with some historical situations such as the breakdown of disease resistance of some important cultivars Weak points of this model are also discussed.     

Genetic structure and spatial distribution of the mycoparasite Sphaerellopsis filum on Melampsora larici-epitea in a short-rotation coppice willow planting

AFLP analysis was used to examine the genetic structure of the mycoparasite Sphaerellopsis filum on willow rust Melampsora larici-epitea using two sets of samples of a willow clone in a short-rotation coppice planting. The first set was collected from a plot (short strip) in 1998, 1999 and 2000 and the second from another plot (long strip) in 2000. In all, 228 S. filum isolates were typed, 139 AFLP loci scored and 54 AFLP genotypes identified. In the short strip, genotypes sampled in 1998 were no longer detected in subsequent years and genotype diversity fluctuated (0·25–0·68) over the years, indicating that migration had a major impact on the genotype structure. Two distinct groups (average Nei and Li's similarity coefficient between the groups = 0·047) were identified. The group B genotypes were sampled only in 2000. Within the groups, the average similarities were > 0·96. Both the index of association test and the parsimony tree length permutation test suggest that there was a significant clonality in group A while recombination cannot be ruled out in group B. Localized clusters of AFLP genotypes were detected using the software SaTScan that is based on the spatial scan statistic. Possible mechanisms involved in the spread of S. filum in willow coppice plantations are discussed.     

Genetic variation and covariation for aggressiveness, deoxynivalenol production and fungal colonization among progeny of Gibberella zeae in wheat

Gibberella zeae (anamorph Fusarium graminearum ) causes head blight of cereals and contaminates grains with mycotoxins such as deoxynivalenol (DON). To determine the correlations among aggressiveness traits, fungal colonization and DON production, 50 progeny from a segregating population of G. zeae were inoculated onto a susceptible winter wheat cultivar in three field environments (year–location combinations). Aggressiveness traits were measured as head-blight rating and plot yield relative to noninoculated plots. Fungal colonization, measured as Fusarium exoantigen (ExAg) content, and DON production were analysed with two ELISA formats. Disease severity was moderate to high based on head-blight rating and relative plot yield. Fusarium ExAg content and DON production ranged from 0·26–1·41 units and from 4·18–43·70 mg kg⁻¹, respectively. Significant ( P  = 0·01) genotypic variation was found for all traits. Heritability for Fusarium ExAg content was rather low because of high progeny–environment interaction and error. DON/ Fusarium ExAg ratio did not vary significantly ( P  > 0·1) among progeny. Correlation between DON production and Fusarium ExAg content across environments was high ( r  = 0·8, P  = 0·01), but no covariation existed between aggressiveness traits and DON/ Fusarium ExAg content ratio.     

四川省小麦条锈病流行区划及菌源传播路径分析

四川省是我国小麦条锈病菌Puccinia striiformis Westend f.sp.tritici Eriks的菌源地和常发区,近10年秋苗病害始见期提前、流行期加长、危害损失呈上升趋势.在实地调查基础上,利用GIS技术对全省132个小麦主产县(市、区)1987-2006年小麦条锈病发生情况进行系统分析.结果表明,四川省小麦条锈病流行区域可划分为川西北越夏区、川西南越夏及冬繁区、盆地冬繁区和川东南春季流行区.GIS软件分析发现病菌孢子在四川盆地内的传播路径为沿岷江、涪江、沱江和嘉陵江等4条河流自北向南、自西向东传播.     

Measurements of spatial patterns of disease in winter wheat crops and the implications for sampling

Over a period of three crop seasons the spatial patterns of some common diseases of winter wheat were investigated at growth stages (GS) 31/33 and 59/61. A large-scale sampling procedure, using randomly positioned transects and based on the theory of autocorrelation analysis, is described. This novel technique enables valid tests of significance to be made on the autocorrelation coefficients calculated. The most complete data obtained were for Septoria tritici blotch which was found to have a near random pattern on scales between 31 cm and 31 m at the growth stages investigated. However, the severity of S. tritici blotch was found to be autocorrelated at scales below 1 m in some fields. With the exceptions of powdery mildew at GS 31/33 and yellow rust at GS 59/61, the other diseases also exhibited a near random pattern. Therefore, almost any convenient sampling pattern, with reasonable overall coverage, will be adequate to obtain samples for monitoring winter wheat at growth stages 31 and 59.     

Disease-weather relationships for powdery mildew and yellow rust on winter wheat

Key weather factors determining the occurrence and severity of powdery mildew and yellow rust epidemics on winter wheat were identified. Empirical models were formulated to qualitatively predict a damaging epidemic (>5% severity) and quantitatively predict the disease severity given a damaging epidemic occurred. The disease data used was from field experiments at 12 locations in the UK covering the period from 1994 to 2002 with matching data from weather stations within a 5 km range. Wind in December to February was the most influential factor for a damaging epidemic of powdery mildew. Disease severity was best identified by a model with temperature, humidity, and rain in April to June. For yellow rust, the temperature in February to June was the most influential factor for a damaging epidemic as well as for disease severity. The qualitative models identified favorable circumstances for damaging epidemics, but damaging epidemics did not always occur in such circumstances, probably due to other factors such as the availability of initial inoculum and cultivar resistance.     

Visual and PCR assessment of light leaf spot (Pyrenopeziza brassicae) on winter oilseed rape (Brassica napus) cultivars

Methods to assess light leaf spot ( Pyrenopeziza brassicae ) on winter oilseed rape cultivars were compared in laboratory, controlled-environment and field experiments. In controlled-environment experiments with seedling leaves inoculated at GS 1,4, the greatest differences in percentage area affected by P. brassicae sporulation were observed with inoculum concentrations of 4 × 10³ or 4 × 10⁴ spores mL⁻¹, rather than 4 × 10² or 4 × 10⁵ spores mL⁻¹, but older leaves had begun to senesce before assessment, particularly where they were severely affected by P. brassicae . In winter oilseed rape field experiments, a severe light leaf spot epidemic developed in 2002/03 (inoculated, September/October rainfall 127·2 mm) but not in 2003/04 (uninoculated, September/October rainfall 40·7 mm). In-plot assessments discriminated between cultivars best in February/March in 2003 and June in 2004, but sometimes failed to detect plots with many infected plants (e.g. March/April 2004). Ranking of cultivar resistance differed between seedling experiments done under controlled-environment conditions and field experiments. The sensitivity of detection of P. brassicae DNA extracted from culture was greater using the PCR primer pair PbITSF/PbITSR than using primers Pb1/Pb2. P. brassicae was detected by PCR (PbITS primers) in leaves from controlled-environment experiments immediately and up to 14 days after inoculation, and in leaves sampled from field experiments 2 months before detection by visual assessment.     

Clonality and long-distance migration of Puccinia striiformis f.sp. tritici in north-west Europe

The biotrophic fungus Puccinia striiformis f.sp. tritici , a basidiomycete that causes yellow rust on wheat, is spread by wind-dispersed spores. Analysis of amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) variation showed that the fungus frequently migrates between the UK, Germany, France and Denmark. There is no biological evidence for sexual or parasexual reproduction under natural conditions, and this was supported by the lack of recombination, as revealed by AFLP, over the time and area represented by the samples in this study. A phylogeographic analysis revealed that there was effectively a single, clonal population in the four countries, up to 1700 km apart, consistent with a 'continent-island' model in which Denmark is the recipient of migrants from other countries. In five cases, specific pathogen clones were dispersed between the UK and Denmark, and on at least two recent occasions clones were also spread from the UK to Germany and France, causing outbreaks of yellow rust on wheat cultivars that were previously resistant to the disease in these countries. The agronomic consequences of migration were enhanced because of the limited genetic diversity for yellow rust resistance in wheat cultivars in the area. These results demonstrate that long-distance migration of pathogen clones, coupled with low diversity in the host species, may cause previously useful resistance genes to become ineffective for disease control on a continental scale.     

Quantitative relationships between inoculum of Melampsora larici-epitea and corresponding disease on Salix

Six Salix clones were inoculated with urediniospores of four isolates of Melampsora larici-epitea at five inoculum levels using a leaf-disc method. Disease reactions were recorded using a digital camera; the number and size of uredinia were examined using image analysis software; and spore yield per leaf disc was measured. In three Salix / Melampsora combinations, S.  ×  mollissima 'Q83'/Q1 (LET4); S. viminalis '78183'/V1 (LET1); and S.  ×  stipularis /V1, pustule numbers increased as inoculum density became higher. In the remainder, S. viminalis 'Mullatin'/V1; S.  ×  calodendron /DB (LET3); and S. burjatica 'Korso'/K (LR1), pustule numbers initially increased, then decreased as inoculum densities exceeded 140–360 spores per disc. Calculated infection efficiency ranged from 0·11 to 0·20 on the three willows inoculated with V1: 0·16–0·68 for S.  ×  calodendron /DB; 0·20–0·55 for 'Q83'/Q1; and 0·07–0·48 for Korso/K. In single-spore inoculations, up to 10% of spores produced single uredinia. Infection efficiency increased sharply between inoculum densities of 1–40 spores per leaf disc. Spore yield was more closely correlated to pustule area (accounting for 61·2% variance for the combined data) than to the number of pustules (42·7% variance). For spore yields in relation to pustule numbers, clone-specific individual lines having different intercepts and slopes fitted significantly better than either a single line for all the tested willows, or parallel lines fitted to each clone ( P  < 0·001). For spore yields in relation to pustule area, clone-specific individual parallel lines were significantly better than a single line ( P  < 0·001).     

小麦条锈病病害流行空间动态电算模拟的初步探讨——Ⅰ.圆形传播

 在国内已发表的两个小麦条锈病流行电算模拟模型的基础上,将研究的病害传播范围等分成一定大小的正方形小区,并以其为空间传播的计量单元,确定各小区的方位和间距。利用Mackenzie的病害直线传播梯度模型,通过试验建立回归预测式求得b值。并根据子代病叶总数与子代发病中心病情的定量关系,求出中心点病情a。再经过随机数转换和重叠侵染转换,与已有的日传染率、潜育期模型相结合,组建了"XRZD-1"电子计算机模拟模型。通过多次循环可以推算和打印出逐日的各小区病害数量及形象化图形。实现了病害时间动态和空间动态的协同模拟。     

Movement of barley powdery mildew within field plots

Movement of barley powdery mildew (caused by Erysiphe graminis f.sp. hordei ) within fields was investigated by sowing the barley cultivars Tyra and Jupiter side by side in two field plots, and trapping spores along transects within the plots. The trapped spores were tested for virulence on the two cultivars. The epidemic on Tyra developed quickly, and a gradient in the proportion of spores with virulence on Tyra was detected in the Jupiter half-plots. In the Jupiter half-plots, the epidemic was much less severe; and no mildew could be found in one plot. Movement of spores from one half of the plot to the other usually declined steeply in the first 4 m from the boundary, and was not detectable beyond 12 m. There were exceptions where the gradient was much shallower, and these were consistent with differences in wind direction.     

Spatio-temporal development of black rot (X. campestris pv. campestris) in cabbage in relation to initial inoculum levels in field plots in The Netherlands

The effects of initial inoculum levels on spatio-temporal development in black rot of cabbage from artificial sources, one per plot, were evaluated in replicated field experiments. The results support the hypothesis that black rot is a polycyclic disease. Its development was inoculum-dependent because the progress rate of epidemics and spatial spread were both positively correlated with the strength of the source. Fast disease development was related to the number of rain days. The spread of black rot, associated with the primary gradient, at first resulted from allo-infection, later followed by a phase during which allo-infection was complemented by auto-infection. Three-dimensional maps of disease severity showed the dominance of the primary focus. Maximum distance of black rot symptoms from the source of the focus was limited to a few metres so that damage to cabbage by focal inoculum was limited to the plants close to the source. Spatio-temporal development and initial inoculum were related. High inoculum levels in point sources resulted in faster outward spread of black rot, and differences between low and high levels were generally significant. Under the conditions of the experiments, performed during three relatively dry seasons, a single source of infection measuring 0.5 × 0.5 m was not capable of spreading disease over all the plants in a plot of 6.5 × 6.5 m. The results imply that severe disease where whole crops are infected, as observed regularly in The Netherlands, can only originate from a large number of small foci per field.     

我国小麦秋苗条锈病发生规律及其区间菌源传播关系

全国冬小麦秋苗均可遭受来自西北和西南越夏区条锈菌的侵染与危害, 条锈菌在寄主上进一步繁殖和发展, 引起本地或者外地小麦条锈病流行。不同麦区秋苗条锈病发生时间、发生程度及其菌源传播规律各不相同, 年度间亦存在差异。根据小麦条锈病发生流行频率、病菌越冬和越夏情况、秋季菌源和春季菌源的有无与多少、提供时间及其影响范围与作用, 结合地理生态条件、气候特点、小麦种植区划与栽培模式等, 将中国小麦条锈病发生流行区域划分为8个明显不同的生态区系, 即关中、华北春季流行区; 成都平原、江汉流域冬季繁殖区; 西北、川西北越夏易变区; 云贵高原越夏冬繁区; 新疆冬春麦常发区; 西藏高原青稞、小麦常发区; 南方晚播冬麦偶发区; 内蒙古、东北春麦偶发区。通过病害实地调查、病菌群体遗传多样性和高空气流轨迹分析, 进一步揭示了区间菌源传播关系。陇南、陇中、陇东、宁南、海东、陕西宝鸡以及川西北和云贵高原等地区离越夏区较近, 冬小麦播种较早, 秋苗条锈病发生早、发病重, 秋季随西北气流传播到平原冬麦区和海拔较低的冬麦区侵染危害秋播麦苗, 其菌源数量对全国小麦条锈病发生流行程度起着至关重要的作用, 是中国小麦条锈病的秋季菌源基地, 面积约67万hm2; 成都平原、江汉流域、陕南、豫南、云贵坝区等麦区, 离条锈菌越夏区相对较远, 小麦播种期也较晚, 秋苗发病较晚较轻, 但冬季气候温和, 雨露条件充沛, 条锈菌在冬季可以不断侵染和繁殖, 在早春可积累大量菌源, 然后向北部和西部广大麦区扩散传播, 引起小麦条锈菌春季侵染, 是中国小麦条锈病的春季菌源基地, 面积约200万hm2。云贵高原越夏冬繁区可为我国广大麦区特别是长江中下游麦区提供部分菌源, 荆州等鄂东南地区是云贵菌源向长江下游麦区传播的中转站。云南与甘肃之间存在大量的基因流, 推测云南可能是中国小麦条锈菌重要的起源中心。西南和西北秋季菌源对长江流域麦区的相对重要性有待进一步研究明确。