Take-all in autumn-sown wheat, barley, triticale and rye grown with high and low inputs

Winter cultivars of wheat, barley, triticale and rye were grown under two contrasting husbandry systems (low and high inputs) at two locations (Woburn and Rothamsted) known to be infested with the take-all fungus. The sandy loam at Woburn is less fertile than the silty clay loam at Rothamsted. Root infection in these crops was assessed in spring and summer.
Rye was least infected by the take-all fungus, wheat the most infected and barley and triticale had intermediate levels of infection. Barley yields were less affected by take-all than those of wheat or triticale, because barley was at a later growth stage by the time severe infection occurred. Yields of wheat and barley responded most to the high-input husbandry on the less fertile soil at Woburn. On the basis of quantity of grain, triticale would appear to be a good substitute for wheat on the less fertile soil when inputs are low, but not where they are high. At Rothamsted, yields of wheat and triticale were similar in both input systems. There was no strong support, at either site, for the contention that triticale could be a useful substitute for barley where low or high inputs are used. A total of 177 isolates of Gaeumannomyces graminis var. tritici (the causal fungus of take-all) were obtained from infected roots in these experiments and tested for their pathogenicity on wheat and rye seedlings. These tests revealed a range of pathotypes with varying pathogenicities to wheat and rye, but pathogenicities were not correlated with the host plant from which the fungi were isolated.     

STUDIES ON THE GROWTH OF SEEDLINGS OF AGROPYRON REPENS (L.) BEAUV AND AGROSTIS GIGANTEA ROTH.

Summary. The growth of seedlings of Agropyron repens (L.) Beauv. and Agrostis gigantea Roth, in pots was studied in two experiments in 1968 and 1969. In Experiment 1 their growth was compared with that of wheat and in Experiment 2 they were grown in sandy loam (Woburn) and silt loam (Rothamsted) soil at four levels of nitrogen. Both species grew faster than wheat, mainly because they had a larger leaf area ratio. Tillering began earlier in wheat, but continued longer in the grasses, which eventually had many more shoots. Ears emerged in the order: wheat before Agropyron before Agrostis. Although Agrostis had much lighter seeds than Agropyron, it grew faster, but Agropyron initiated rhizomes sooner, usually when it had 1–2 tillers and 4 leaves. Agrostis did not initiate rhizomes until it had at least 10 tillers and 6 leaves. In Experiment 2 the seedlings at first grew more in Woburn than in Rothamsted soil but later more in Rothamsted than in Woburn soil. There was no evidence of a species/soil interaction but nitrogen had more effect on both species in Woburn than in Rothamsted soil. Neither soil type nor nitrogen affected the time at which rhizomes were initiated. Etude de la croissance de plantules d'Agropyron repens (L.) Beauv. et d'Agrostis gigantea Roth. Résumé. La croissance de plantules A'Agropyron repens (L.) Beauv. et d'Agrostis gigantea Roth, cultivdes en pots a étéétudiée au cours de deux expériences en 1968 et 1969. Dans la premiére experience, leur croissance fut compareée à celle du blé et dans une seconde experiénce, ces deux espéces furent cultivées sur un sol sablo-limoneux (Woburn) et sur un sol argilo-limoneux (Rothamsted) á quatre niveaux d'azote. Les deux mauvaises herbes poussérent plus vite que le blé, principalement en raison de leur rapport plus éalevé de surface foliaire. Le tallage commenga plus tot chez le bié, mais se poursuivit plus longtemps chez les deux mauvaises herbes qui, en fin de compte, eurent plus de tiges. L'épiaison se produisit dans l'ordre suivant: bléa, Agropyron, Agrostis. Bien que I'Agrostis ait des semences plus petites que I'Agropyron, il poussa plus vite, mais I'Agropyron émit des rhizomes plus tôt, habituellement au stade 1 à 2 talles et 4 feuilles. L'Agrostis n'émit pas de rhizome avant d'atteindre au moins le stade 10 talles et 6 feuilles. Dans la deuxième experience, les plantules poussérent d'abord plus dans le sol de Woburn que dans celui de Rothamsted mais, plus tard, plus dans le sol de Rothamsted que dans Celui de Woburn. II ne fut pas décelé d'interaction entre le sol et les espéces, mais I'azote fit un effet plus marqué sur les deux espéces dans le sol de Woburn que dans celui de Rothamsted. Ni le type de sol, ni le niveau d'azote n'eurent d'influence sur l'époque à laquelle les rhizomes commencérent de croître. Untersuchungen zum Wachstum von Keirnpjlanzen von Agropyron repens (L.) Beauv. Und Agrostis gigantea Roih. Zusammenfassung. Das Wachstum von Keimpfianzen von Agropyron repens (L.) Beauv. und Agrostis gigantea Roth, in Töpfen wurde 1968 und 1969 in zwei Versuchen untersucht. In Versuch II wurde das Wachstum mit dem von Weizen verglichen. In Versuch II wurden sie in sandigen Lehmboden (Woburn) und Silt-Lehm-(Rothamsted) Boden bei vier Stickstoffstufen angezogen. Beide Arten wuchsen in erster Linie wegen ihres grösseren Blattflächenanteils schneller als Weizen. Die Bestockung begann fruher bei Weizen, zog sich jedoch bei den Gräsern, die schliesslich wesentlich mehr Halme hatten, langer hin. Ahrenschieben erfolgte am frühesten bei Weizen, dann bei Agropyron und schliesslich bei Agrostis. Obgleich Agrostis viel leichtere Samen hatte als Agropyron, wuchs es schneller, doch entwickelte Agropyron fruher Rhizome, nornialerweise bei 1–2 Bestockungstriebe und 4 Blättern. Agrostis entwickelte Rhizome nicht ehe es mindestens 10 Bestockungstriebe und 6 Blätter hatte. In Versuch II wuchsen die Keimpflanzen zunächst besser in Woburn- als in Rothamsted-Boden, später wieder besser in Rothamsted als in Woburn-Boden. Es gab keine Anhalts-punkte für eine Interaktion zwisehen den Arten und dem Boden, doch wirkte Stickstoff bei beiden Arten besser in Woburn- als in Rothamsted-Boden. Weder Bodentyp noch Stickstoffmenge beeinflussten den Beginn der Rhizombfldung.     

Effect of Organic Management of Soils on Suppressiveness to <Emphasis Type="Italic">Gaeumannomyces graminis</Emphasis> var. <Emphasis Type="Italic">tritici</Emphasis> and its Antagonist, <Emphasis Type="Italic">Pseudomonas fluorescens</Emphasis>

Organic management of soils is generally considered to reduce the incidence and severity of plant diseases caused by soil-borne pathogens. In this study, take-all severity on roots of barley and wheat, caused by Gaeumannomyces graminis var. tritici, was significantly lower in organically-managed than in conventionally-managed soils. This effect was more pronounced on roots of barley and wheat plants grown in a sandy soil compared to a loamy organically-managed soil. Fluorescent Pseudomonas spp. and in particular phlD⁺ pseudomonads, key factors in the take-all decline phenomenon, were represented at lower population densities in organically-managed soils compared to conventionally-managed soils. Furthermore, organic management adversely affected the initial establishment of introduced phlD⁺ P. fluorescens strain Pf32-gfp, but not its survival. In spite of its equal survival rate in organically- and conventionally-managed soils, the efficacy of biocontrol of take-all disease by introduced strain Pf32-gfp was significantly stronger in conventionally-managed soils than in organically-managed soils. Collectively, these results suggest that phlD⁺ Pseudomonas spp. do not play a critical role in the take-all suppressiveness of the soils included in this study. Consequently, the role of more general mechanisms involved in take-all suppressiveness in the organically-managed soils was investigated. The higher microbial activity found in the organically-managed sandy soil combined with the significantly lower take-all severity suggest that microbial activity plays, at least in part, a role in the take-all suppressiveness in the organically-managed sandy soil. The significantly different bacterial composition, determined by DGGE analysis, in organically-managed sandy soils compared to the conventionally-managed sandy soils, point to a possible additional role of specific bacterial genera that limit the growth or activity of the take-all pathogen.     

Atripes paspali gen. et sp. nov. (Magnaporthaceae) causing take-all disease on Paspalum guenoarum in Brazil

In Brazil, Paspalum species are commonly used in sports lawns, landscape projects, and as forage for livestock. Paspalum guenoarum plants showing symptoms of take-all disease were observed in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. The fungus Gaeumannomyces graminis is the only species reported associated with this disease on Paspalum. In recent years, new species of Gaeumannomyces have been proposed based on molecular studies, which demonstrated the existence of a species complex. Take-all affects rice and wheat, but the aetiology of this disease on P. guenoarum is still unknown; this work aimed to elucidate the aetiology of the take-all on P. guenoarum in Brazil and evaluate possible alternative hosts of agricultural importance. Based on combined phylogenetic analyses of ITS, LSU, TEF-1α, and RPB1 sequences, the fungal pathogen was identified as Atripes paspali gen. et sp. nov., which is proposed as a new genus in the Magnaporthaceae family. A representative isolate of A. paspali was inoculated on healthy P. guenoarum plants and reproduced the same symptoms of take-all observed in the field. Furthermore, this fungus is also able to cause take-all on wheat plants; temperature directly affected the incidence and development of the disease in wheat. Take-all on P. guenoarum is caused by A. paspali.     

Effects of summer fallow management on take-all of winter wheat caused by <Emphasis Type="Italic">Gaeumannomyces graminis</Emphasis> var. <Emphasis Type="Italic">tritici</Emphasis>

Crop rotation is the oldest, and perhaps the best cultural practice for reducing the risk of take-all. The effects of crops sown before wheat in a rotation are known in detail, but we know little about the opportunities for reducing take-all risk by planting certain crops in the summer period between wheat harvest and the planting of a subsequent winter wheat crop. We investigated the effects on take-all of five summer fallow crops, two soil tillage treatments and a fungicide seed treatment, in a five site-year experiment. We tested the effects of oats, oilseed rape, mustard, ryegrass and volunteer wheat crops. Bare-soil plots were also included. Take-all epidemics varied with year and site. Summer fallow crops had a greater effect on tilled plots. The incidence and severity of take-all were significantly higher in the wheat volunteer plots, whereas maintaining bare soil provided the lowest level of disease. Oilseed rape had no significant effect on take-all incidence in our experiment. The best candidates for reducing take-all risk appeared to be oats, mustard and ryegrass. These summer fallow crops decreased disease levels only when associated with conventional tillage. Summer fallow crops did not alter take-all decline in the same way as a break crop after a wheat monoculture.     

Variation in the effects of take-all disease on grain yield and quality of winter cereals in field experiments

Relationships between take-all intensity and grain yield and quality were determined in field experiments on cereal crops using regression analyses, usually based on single-point disease assessments made during anthesis or grain-filling. Different amounts of take-all were achieved by different methods of applying inoculum artificially (to wheat only) or by using different cropping sequences (in wheat, triticale or barley) or sowing dates (wheat only) in crops with natural inoculum. Regressions of yield or thousand-grain weight on take-all intensity during grain filling were similar to those on accumulated disease (area under the disease progress curve) when these were compared in one of the wheat experiments. Regressions of yield on take-all intensity were more often significant in wheat than in the less susceptible crops, triticale and barley, even when a wide range of disease intensities was present in the latter crops. The regressions usually had most significance when there were plots in the severe disease category. Thousand-grain weight and hectolitre weight usually responded similarly to total grain yield. Decreased yield was often accompanied by a significant increase in the percentage of small grains. When severe take-all was present in wheat, regressions showed that nitrogen uptake was usually impaired. This was sometimes accompanied, however, by increased percentage nitrogen in the grain as a consequence of smaller grain size with decreased endosperm. Significant effects of take-all, both positive and negative, on Hagberg falling number in wheat sometimes occurred. Significant regressions of yield on take-all assessed earlier than usual, ie during booting rather than grain-filling in wheat and triticale and during anthesis/grain-filling rather than ripening in barley, had steeper slopes. This is consistent with observations that severe disease that develops early can be particularly damaging, whilst the crops, especially barley, can later express tolerance by producing additional, healthy roots. The regression parameters, including maximum potential yield (y-axis intercept) and the extrapolated maximum yield loss, also varied according to the different growing conditions, including experimental treatments and other husbandry operations. These differences must be considered when assessing the economic potential of a control measure such as fungicidal seed treatment.     

小麦全蚀病菌拮抗细菌的筛选及生防效果

为筛选小麦全蚀病菌Gaeumannomyces tritici的拮抗细菌,从健康小麦根际土壤中分离和筛选拮抗细菌,采用对峙培养法和室内盆栽试验测定拮抗细菌对小麦全蚀病菌的抑制活性及生防效果,通过形态学特征观察、生理生化特性测定和保守序列分析确定其分类地位。结果表明,从小麦根际土壤中分离并筛选获得2株具有较好拮抗效果的菌株XJ-3和XJ-4,对小麦全蚀病菌菌丝生长的抑制率分别为64.31%和65.25%。基于菌株XJ-3和XJ-4的形态学特征、生理生化特性和gyrB基因系统进化分析结果,将其均鉴定为贝莱斯芽胞杆菌Bacillus velezensis。菌株XJ-3和XJ-4的发酵液中均含有一类具抗真菌活性、耐热性的非蛋白类次生代谢产物;经菌株XJ-3和XJ-4发酵液处理小麦幼苗后,株高较对照分别显著增加了6.48%和13.12%,干重较对照分别增加了1.30%和14.29%,其中菌株XJ-4的促生效果相对较好;对小麦全蚀病的盆栽防效分别达到51.29%和52.46%。表明筛选得到的贝莱斯芽胞杆菌XJ-3和XJ-4可用于小麦全蚀病的生物防治,具有开发为生防制剂的潜力。     

Dominant Colonisation of Wheat Roots by Pseudomonas fluorescens Pf29A and Selection of the Indigenous Microflora in the Presence of the Take-all Fungus

Increases in populations of fluorescent pseudomonads on wheat roots are usually associated with take-all decline, natural control of take-all, a disease caused by the fungus Gaeumannomyces graminis var. tritici (Ggt). Colonisation by Pseudomonas fluorescens strain Pf29A was assessed on the roots of healthy plants and of plants with take-all, and the effect of this bacterium on indigenous populations of fluorescent pseudomonads was studied. The efficacy of Pf29A as an agent for the biocontrol of take-all on five-week-old wheat seedlings was tested in non-sterile conducive soil in a growth chamber. RAPD (random amplification of polymorphic DNA) fingerprinting with a decamer primer was used to monitor strain Pf29A and culturable indigenous rhizoplane populations of fluorescent pseudomonad. Pf29A decreased disease severity and accounted for 44.6% of the culturable fluorescent pseudomonads on healthy plant rhizoplane and 75.8% on diseased plant rhizoplane. Fewer RAPD patterns were obtained when Pf29A was introduced into the soil with Ggt. In the presence of Ggt and necrotic roots, Pf29A became the dominant root coloniser and dramatically changed the diversity and the structure of indigenous fluorescent pseudomonad populations. The results show that Ggt and reduced lesion size on roots can trigger a specific increase in antagonist populations and that the introduction of a biocontrol agent in soil influences the structure of indigenous bacterial populations.     

Frequency, Diversity, and Activity of 2,4-Diacetylphloroglucinol-Producing Fluorescent Pseudomonas spp. in Dutch Take-all Decline Soils

ABSTRACT Natural suppressiveness of soils to take-all disease of wheat, referred to as take-all decline (TAD), occurs worldwide. It has been postulated that different microbial genera and mechanisms are responsible for TAD in soils from different geographical regions. In growth chamber experiments, we demonstrated that fluorescent Pseudomonas spp. that produce the antibiotic 2,4-diacetylphloroglucinol (2,4-DAPG) play a key role in the natural suppressiveness of two Dutch TAD soils. First, 2,4-DAPG-producing fluorescent Pseudomonas spp. were present on roots of wheat grown in both of the TAD soils at densities at or above the threshold density required to control take-all of wheat; in a complementary take-all conducive soil, population densities of 2,4-DAPG-producing Pseudomonas spp. were below this threshold level. Second, introduction of 2,4-DAPG-producing strain SSB17, a representative of the dominant geno-typic group found in the Dutch TAD soils, into the take-all conducive soil at population densities similar to the densities of indigenous 2,4-DAPG producers found in TAD soils provided control of take-all similar to that observed in the TAD soil. Third, a mutant of strain SSB17 deficient in 2,4-DAPG production was not able to control take-all of wheat, indicating that 2,4-DAPG is a key determinant in take-all suppression. These results show that in addition to the physicochemically different TAD soils from Washington State, 2,4-DAPG-producing fluorescent Pseudomonas spp. are also a key component of the natural suppressiveness found in Dutch TAD soils. Furthermore, it is the first time since the initial studies of Gerlagh (1968) that at least part of the mechanisms and microorganisms that operate in Dutch TAD soils are identified. Although quantitatively similar, the genotypic composition of 2,4-DAPG-producing Pseudomonas spp. varied between the Dutch TAD soils and the TAD soils from Washington State.     

枯草芽胞杆菌YB-05对小麦全蚀病菌胞内酶活的影响

小麦全蚀病菌是影响小麦产量和质量的主要致病菌之一,前期研究表明枯草芽胞杆菌YB-05对小麦全蚀病菌的生长具有抑制作用。本试验拟通过研究该菌对小麦全蚀病菌相关酶系的诱导变化情况,解析其对小麦全蚀病菌的抑制作用机理。本试验以小麦全蚀病菌Gaeumannomyces gramini（Sacc.）Arx et Oliver var. tritici（Sacc.）Walker为靶标菌,加入终浓度为MIC₅₀枯草芽胞杆菌YB-05发酵液,通过显微镜观察菌株YB-05发酵液对小麦全蚀病菌菌丝结构和形态的影响,通过酶活力测定检测菌株YB-05发酵液对小麦全蚀病菌胞内苯丙氨酸解氨酶（PAL）、过氧化物酶（POD）、过氧化氢酶（CAT）、多酚氧化酶（PPO）和超氧化物歧化酶（SOD）防御酶活的影响,同时检测菌株YB-05发酵液在离体/活体条件下对小麦全蚀病菌线粒体复合酶Ⅱ/Ⅲ活力的影响。小麦全蚀病菌经菌株YB-05发酵液处理后,显微镜观察到其菌丝变粗、断裂,顶端膨大,分枝增多;处理8 d后,胞内的PAL、POD、CAT、PPO和SOD活性比对照依次高24.52%、72.67%、81.81%、80.36%和112.48%;离体条件处理,线粒体复合酶Ⅱ和Ⅲ的活性与对照组相比差异不显著,而活体条件处理下差异显著,线粒体复合酶Ⅱ和Ⅲ分别比对照组分别降低43.95%和55.87%。菌株YB-05发酵液通过结合小麦全蚀病菌线粒体复合酶Ⅱ和Ⅲ的相关基因,从而影响该基因的表达,抑制小麦全蚀病菌线粒体复合酶Ⅱ和Ⅲ的活力,影响小麦全蚀病菌的呼吸,进而导致抑制小麦全蚀病菌菌丝畸变,从而影响小麦全蚀病菌的正常生长。     

Methods for studying population structure, including sensitivity to the fungicide silthiofam, of the cereal take-all fungus, Gaeumannomyces graminis var. tritici

Field isolates ( n  = 144) of the wheat take-all fungus Gaeumannomyces graminis var. tritici ( Ggt ) were tested for sensitivity to silthiofam, a take-all-specific fungicide used as a seed treatment, and identified as A- or B-type by PCR–RFLP analysis of nuclear rDNA. A possible association was identified between polymorphisms in ITS2 of the nuclear rDNA and sensitivity to silthiofam. A Ggt -specific PCR assay was developed which simultaneously identified isolates of Ggt as A- or B-type, based on the polymorphisms in the nuclear rDNA. A highly significant correlation between Ggt type using the PCR assay and sensitivity to silthiofam was demonstrated in a collection of 358 isolates from three field experiments designed to test the effects of seed-treatment fungicides on take-all and Ggt populations in winter wheat. In one experiment the percentages of silthiofam-sensitive and B-type isolates were significantly less in populations from plots sown with silthiofam-treated seed in two consecutive years than in populations from plots sown with nontreated seed. However, silthiofam still provided a significant amount of control of take-all. The natural occurrence of fungicide-insensitive isolates, up to about 30% in soils in which the fungicide had never been used, is unusual. The new PCR assay provides a useful tool for studying the population structure of Ggt , and may provide a novel method for assessing the incidence of insensitivity to silthiofam (the target site for which has not yet been identified) in field populations of Ggt .     

Biological Control of Take-all by Phialophora radicicola Cain1

Biological control of take-all by Phialophora radicicola Cain and similar fungi is reviewed, and new evidence is presented on the possible role of hyper-parasites, like Pythium oligandrum Drechsler, to augment this. Phialophora radicicola var. graminicola Deacon is abundant in British grasslands. Its role in biological control of take-all has been demonstrated in the glasshouse with natural soils and natural population levels of this control agent. Also there is much circumstantial evidence for its beneficial role in agriculture, especially in cereal monoculture following grass crops, and in natural and amenity grasslands. Some other similar fungi control take-all in the glasshouse, but their roles in current agricultural practice are not known. The take-all fungus, itself, can reduce infection of roots by P. radicicola, so there is a dynamic interaction between these fungi. This is affected by host type, relative inoculum potentials of the fungi, and possibly by environmental conditions. By careful manipulation, therefore, it might be possible to control take-all under a wide range of field conditions. The chief role of P. radicicola and similar fungi is to delay establishment of severe take-all early in cereal monoculture, rather than to combat an existing high disease level. It may therefore be desirable to combine different biocontrols, and hyperparasites like Pythium oligandrum may be important in this respect. This fungus was tested against varieties of Gaeumannomyces graminis Arx & Olivier and Phialophora radicicola in the laboratory; the host responses differed greatly, from marked susceptibility (P. radicicola var. radicicola) to almost complete resistance (G. graminis var. graminis). Hence, P. oligandrum might be used to alter relative population levels of these fungi in the field, but first its behaviour in natural soils must be studied.     

Enhanced field control of wheat take-all using cold tolerant isolates of Gaeumannomyces graminis var. graminis and Phialophora sp. (lobed hyphopodia)

Cold tolerant isolates of Gaeumannomyces graminis var. graminis ( Ggg ) and Phialophora sp. (lobed hyphopodia), which produced at least comparable growth rates at 5°C to those of pathogenic G. graminis var. tritici ( Ggt ), were shown to control take-all disease in wheat effectively in 2 years of field experiments in New South Wales, Australia. The addition of oat inoculum of these fungi at the rate of 60 kg/ha to the seeding furrow significantly ( P  ≤ 0.05) reduced disease and increased grain yields by 33–45% compared to the Ggt alone treatment. The use of 30 kg/ha of oat inoculum also significantly ( P  ≤ 0.05) reduced disease and increased grain yields by 21–44%. These high levels of take-all control were obtained consistently from four field experiments on three different soil types with different pHs. A treatment inoculated with Ggg alone showed no disease symptoms and produced grain yields similar to that of untreated wheat. This fungus is, therefore, non-pathogenic to wheat. At high rates of inoculation of Ggg and Phialophora sp. (lobed hyphopodia), 65–80% of tillering wheat plants (GS 32) had root systems colonized by these fungi. In contrast, two Pseudomonas spp. and an isolate each of Ggg and Phialophora sp. (lobed hyphopodia), which did not grow at 5°C, were ineffective in controlling take-all. Take-all assessments during heading (GS 61-83) were highly correlated ( R ²=0.6047, P ≤0.0005) with the relative yield increase or decrease of inoculated treatments compared to the Ggt alone treatment. The use of a Ggg isolate (90/3B) and a Phialophora sp. (lobed hyphopodia) isolate (KY) for take-all control has been patented. These fungi are being developed for commercial use.     

不同杀菌剂拌种防治小麦全蚀病研究

为筛选防治小麦全蚀病的高效安全药剂,对多种杀菌剂在不同浓度下的防效以及对小麦的安全性进行了盆栽试验.结果表明,硅噻菌胺和苯醚甲环唑在推荐浓度下对小麦全蚀病有很好的防治效果,并且对小麦出苗、苗高没有显著影响;咯菌腈的防效与苯醚甲环唑相似,但对小麦出苗有轻微的抑制作用;其他几种杀菌剂对小麦全蚀病也能起到很好的防治效果,但是对小麦的生长有一定的抑制作用.从防治效果、对小麦安全性以及抗药性治理方面综合考虑,将硅噻菌胺、苯醚甲环唑和咯菌腈等交替或混合使用是防治小麦全蚀病比较好的策略.     

Take-all of wheat

Take-all, caused by the soilborne fungus Gaeumannomyces graminis var. tritici, is arguably the most-studied root disease of any crop, yet remains the most important root disease of wheat worldwide. S. D. Garrett launched the study of root diseases and soilborne pathogens as an independent field of science starting in the middle of the 20th century, inspired by and based in large part on his research on take-all during the first half of the 20th century. Because there has been neither a source of host plant resistance nor an effective and economical fungicide for use against this disease, the focus for nearly a century has been on cultural and biological controls. In spite of the intensive and extensive works towards these controls, with mostly site-or soil-specific success, the only broadly and consistently effective controls require either crop rotation (break crops), or the converse, wheat monoculture to induce take-all decline. Take-all decline has become the model system for research on biological control of plant pathogens in the rhizosphere and provided the first proof to the scientific world after decades of debate that antibiotics are both produced in soils and play a role in the ecology of soil microorganisms. On the other hand, even the best yields following take-all decline are rarely equal to those achieved with crop rotation. Because of this, the continuing trends globally to shorten rather than lengthen the rotations in wheat-based cropping systems, and the growing use of direct-seed (no-till) trashy systems to reduce costs and protect soil and water resources, new methods to control take-all are needed more than ever. With high resolution maps of the genomes of cereals and other grasses now available, including a complete sequence of the rice genome, and the interesting differences as well as striking similarities among the genomes of cereals and related grasses, gene transfer to wheat from oats, rice, maize and other grass species resistant to G. graminis var. tritici should be pursued.     

Sublethal effect of Beauveria bassiana on feeding and fecundity of the sunn pest,Eurygaster integriceps Puton (Hemiptera: Scutelleridae)

The sunn pest, Eurygaster integriceps Puton, is a major pest of wheat in West and Central Asia. Studies were conducted to investigate the effect of Beauveria bassiana (teleomorph; Cordyceps bassiana) isolates on the sunn pest. Bioassays were done with adult insects collected from overwintering sites at three different times. The effect of sublethal doses of fungi on the insects’ feeding and fecundity was determined. When the sunn pest adults were treated with 2 × 10⁷ conidia mL^?1, all isolates caused significant sunn pest mortality varying between 24 and 100% 12 days after inoculation. There were significant differences between mortality, depending on the date of fungal application. Adult sunn pests treated with B. bassiana at sublethal concentrations caused significantly less damage to wheat leaves than sunn pests in the control. The number of eggs laid by the sunn pest was significantly fewer when wheat plots in plastic greenhouse and field cages were infested with adult sunn pests treated at sublethal concentrations, compared with sunn pests in control plots. Results show that sublethal dosages of B. bassiana reduced sunn pest feeding and fecundity. Applying B. bassiana in sunn pest overwintering sites minimizes the pest populations, which would move to wheat fields in spring.     

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.     

Evaluation of models to predict take-all incidence in winter wheat as a function of cropping practices,soil, and climate

The incidence and severity of take-all, caused by Gaeumannomyces graminis var. tritici (Ggt), in susceptible crops depend on climate, soil characteristics and cropping practices. Take-all can be controlled by modifying crop rotation, crop management and fungicide treatment. When available, fungicides are used as a seed treatment and are partially effective. There is currently no reliable method for helping farmers to optimise their choice of cropping system to improve take-all control. In this study, we defined 16 models, based on various mathematical functions and input variables, for predicting disease incidence in a wheat crop as a function of soil characteristics, climate, crop rotation and crop management. The parameters of these models were estimated from field experiments carried out at six sites in the north of France over a ten-year period. The root mean squared error of prediction (RMSEP) values of the models were estimated by cross validation and compared. RMSEP was in the range 16.34–65.93% and was higher for the models based on multiplicative functions. The lowest RMSEP value was obtained for a dynamic model simulating disease incidence during the crop cycle and which included among input variables the percentage of diseased plants determined at GS30.     

Effect of Fungicides on Septoria nodorum and Wheat Green Leaf Area1

Fungicides applied at different growth stages were compared for the control of wheat glume blotch, caused by Septoria nodorum (Berk.) Berk. In glasshouse and small-scale field tests, 11 commercially used fungicides, when applied to fully emerged wheat ears, cv. Hobbit, gave only partial control of ear infection by spores applied immediately after spraying. They gave better control of infection of leaves by a similar inoculum. Larger field trials, moreover, indicated better foliar and ear disease control from fungicide applications made before ear emergence, compared with those applied later. In another field trial, nine fungicides were applied to replicated plots of winter wheat, cultivars Atou and Hobbit at GS 31, GS 39, GS 55 or GS 71. On five occasions from anthesis (25 June) until 30 July disease was assessed and green leaf area measured. The trial was harvested on 22 August 1980. Significantly greater yields and grain weights were obtained from plots sprayed with fungicide at GS 39 than from those sprayed at any other time or left unsprayed. Treatments made before symptoms of infection by S. nodorum developed (i.e. before GS 55) prolonged the duration of green leaf areas during the post-anthesis period. Grain weight and yield increases were related closely to the duration of green leaf area above 75 96, but not to the amount of green leaf area at any single assessment nor to the subsequent degree of disease development. The data on which this abstract is based form part of a continuing research programme, the results of which will be published in full at a later date. Full details on the 1980 results referred to above appear in the Annual Report of Long Ashton Research Station (1980).     

Application of Pseudomonas fluorescens isolates to wheat as potential biological control agents against take-all

Two isolates of Pseudomonas fluorescens (2–79 and 13–79) from the USA were evaluated in the UK as biological control agents against Gaeumannomyces graminis var. tritici , the cause of take-all in wheat. Biological control agents were applied as seed coatings in carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) to seven wheat trials sown in 1987 and 1988 on fen peat and clay soils, and as peat-based and microgranule formulations in one of these trials. In a trial of spring wheat on fen peat, all treatments with biological control agents reduced the percentage take-all infection of crown roots and seminal roots, but the effects of only one isolate were statistically significant ( P <0·05). Effects of biological control agents on infection rates in five other trials were not significant. In the trial in which application methods were compared, peat-based inoculum initially appeared most effective but none of the treatments reduced take-all significantly throughout the season. Application of biological control agents was associated with yield increases in several trials; these were not consistently associated with effects on take-all. These results suggest that the isolates of P. fluorescens have potential to reduce take-all and increase yields of wheat in the UK, but the beneficial effects are inconsistent. There is a need to develop isolates which reliably control severe take-all in a variety of soil types.