Visual disease and PCR assessment of stem base diseases in winter wheat

Stem base disease (eyespot, sharp eyespot and brown foot rot) was assessed visually and by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technique on single plants sampled at four-week intervals in two crops of winter wheat grown in the UK in 1992–3. PCR assays were conducted for Fusarium avenaceum , F. culmorum , both varieties of Microdochium nivale , both eyespot-causing species of Tapesia and Rhizoctonia cerealis . PCR diagnoses were compared with visual diagnoses at each time point. Eyespot was caused principally by T. acuformis (R-type) and developed rapidly late in the season. Visual diagnoses of eyespot were largely confirmed by PCR but T. acuformis was detected in many plants lacking eyespot symptoms. R. cerealis was detected at relatively low incidences on both sites, and sharp eyespot visual diagnoses did not correlate with the incidence of any of the pathogens assayed by PCR. Brown foot rot, caused principally by Microdochium nivale var . majus , accumulated earlier in the season than eyespot. Overall, visual diagnoses of stem base disease coincided poorly with PCR data until after growth stage (GS) 30.