Anderson Luiz Durante Danelli

Diagrammatic scale for the assessment of blast on wheat spikes

The correct quantification of blast caused by the fungus Magnaporthe oryzae on wheat (Triticum aestivum) spikes is an important component to understand the development of this disease aimed at its control. Visual quantification based on a diagrammatic scale can be a practical and efficient strategy that has already proven to be useful against several plant pathosystems, including diseases affecting wheat spikes like glume blotch and fusarium head blight. Spikes showing different disease severity values were collected from a wheat field with the aim of elaborating a diagrammatic scale to quantify blast severity on wheat spikes. The spikes were photographed and blast severity was determined by using resources of the software ImageJ. A diagrammatic scale was developed with the following disease severity values: 3.7, 7.5, 21.4, 30.5, 43.8, 57.3, 68.1, 86.0, and 100.0%. An asymptomatic spike was added to the scale. Scale validation was performed by eight people who estimated blast severity by using digitalized images of 40 wheat spikes. The precision and the accuracy of the evaluations varied according to the rater (0.82<R2<0.90, -6.12<a<2.94, 0.85<b<1.16), and systematic errors in overestimating or underestimating the disease were not found among the raters, demonstrating that the developed scale is suitable to evaluate blast on wheat spikes.

Macrophomina phaseolina: density and longevity of microsclerotia in soybean root tissues and free on the soil, and competitive saprophytic ability

In field experiments, the density of Macrophomina phaseolina microsclerotia in root tissues of naturally colonized soybean cultivars was quantified. The density of free sclerotia on the soil was determined for plots of crop rotation (soybean-corn) and soybean monoculture soon after soybean harvest. M. phaseolina natural infection was also determined for the roots of weeds grown in the experimental area. To verify the ability of M. phaseolina to colonize dead substrates, senesced stem segments from the main plant species representing the agricultural system of southern Brazil were exposed on naturally infested soil for 30 and 60 days. To quantify the sclerotia, the methodology of Cloud and Rupe (1991) and Mengistu et al. (2007) was employed. Sclerotium density, assessed based on colony forming units (CFU), ranged from 156 to 1,108/g root tissue. Sclerotium longevity, also assessed according to CFU, was 157 days for the rotation and 163 days for the monoculture system. M. phaseolina did not colonize saprophytically any dead stem segment of Avena strigosa,Avena sativa,Hordeum vulgare,Brassica napus,Gossypium hirsutum,Secale cereale,Helianthus annus,Triticosecalerimpaui, and Triticum aestivum. Mp was isolated from infected root tissues of Amaranthus viridis,Bidens pilosa,Cardiospermum halicacabum,Euphorbia heterophylla,Ipomoea sp., and Richardia brasiliensis. The survival mechanisms of M. phaseolina studied in this paper met the microsclerotium longevity in soybean root tissues, free on the soil, as well as asymptomatic colonization of weeds.

In vitro mycelial sensitivity of Macrophomina phaseolina to fungicides

Black root rot, caused by Macrophomina phaseolina (Tass.) Goid. , is the most common root disease in soybean fields. This study aimed to determine the in vitro mycelial sensitivity, measured by the IC 50 (concentration to inhibit 50% of the fungus mycelial growth) of a M. phaseolina isolate obtained from soybean, to different fungicides (thiram, iprodione, carbendazim, pyraclostrobin, fluquinconazol, tolyfluanid, metalaxyl and p enflufen + trifloxystrobin), at six concentrations (0.01 mg L -1 , 0.10 mg L -1 , 1.00 mg L -1 , 10.00 mg L -1 , 20.00 mg L -1 and 40.00 mg L -1 of the active ingredient). The 0.00 mg L -1 concentration represented the control, without fungicide addition. The mycelial growth evaluation was performed with the aid of a digital pachymeter, by measuring the colonies diameter, when the fungus growth in the control treatment reached the Petri dish edge. The experimental design was completely randomized, with four replications. Concerning the fungitoxicity of active ingredients, a variation from non-toxic to highly fungitoxic was observed to the M. phaseolina isolate, with IC 50 values ranging from 0.23 mg L -1 to > 40.00 mg L -1 , being carbendazim the most efficient one (IC 50 = 0.23 mg L -1 ). The fungus showed insensitivity to the active ingredients of fluquinconazole, metalaxyl, thiram and tolyfluanid.

Critical-point model to estimate yield loss caused by Asian soybean rust

A model to estimate yield loss caused by Asian soybean rust (ASR) (Phakopsora pachyrhizi) was developed by collecting data from field experiments during the growing seasons 2009/10 and 2010/11, in Passo Fundo, RS. The disease intensity gradient, evaluated in the phenological stages R5.3, R5.4 and R5.5 based on leaflet incidence (LI) and number of uredinium and lesions/cm2, was generated by applying azoxystrobin 60 g a.i/ha + cyproconazole 24 g a.i/ha + 0.5% of the adjuvant Nimbus. The first application occurred when LI = 25% and the remaining ones at 10, 15, 20 and 25-day intervals. Harvest occurred at physiological maturity and was followed by grain drying and cleaning. Regression analysis between the grain yield and the disease intensity assessment criteria generated 56 linear equations of the yield loss function. The greatest loss was observed in the earliest growth stage, and yield loss coefficients ranged from 3.41 to 9.02 kg/ha for each 1% LI for leaflet incidence, from 13.34 to 127.4 kg/ha/1 lesion/cm2 for lesion density and from 5.53 to 110.0 kg/ha/1 uredinium/cm2 for uredinium density.

Etiologia e quantificação dos agentes causais de manchas foliares na cultura do trigo nas safras 2008 a 2011

The wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) crop is one of the most important options for cultivation in the winter season. Among the foliar diseases, yellow leaf spot, brown-spot and septoriosis, are cited as the most frequent leaf spot in wheat. This study aimed to identify and quantify the pathogenic fungi associated with leaf spot symptoms in wheat cultivars in Regions of Value for Cultivation and Use (RVCU). One hundred and sixty two samples collected in 2008 to 2011 season, in wheat field in the states of Parana, Santa Catarina, Minas Gerais, Sao Paulo and Rio Grande do Sul were analysed. Twenty five aseptic leaf discs per sample were distributed in a moist chamber within a gerbox and incubated at 25 oC and 12 hours photoperiod. After incubation for eight days the identification and quantification of the fungi incidence present in leaf discs were performed. In the 2008 season, there was a predominance of Drechslera siccans with an incidence of 0 to 75 %, being the first report of this species in wheat, Brazil. On the seasons average B. sorokiniana showed a 7.6 % incidence and 53.1 % frequency, D. tritici-repentis presented an incidence of 59.2 % and 90.6 % frequency, D. siccans incidence of 11.0 % and 48.1 % frequency, and S. nodorum with incidence and frequency of 1.55 % and 2.2 %, respectively.

Fungicides, seed dresser adjuvants and storage time in the control of Drechslera teres in barley seeds

In experiments conducted in laboratory, the effect of fungicides, seed dresser adjuvants and storage time in the control of Drechslera teres in seeds of barley cultivar BRS Elis, with 58% incidence, was quantified. Fungicides indicated by barley research (carboxin + thiram, difenoconazole and triadimenol) compared with the mixture carbendazim + iprodione were tested. As seed dresser adjuvants, water (500m mL/100 Kg) and a polymer (150 mL/100 Kg) were used. Treated seeds were stored in paper bags and kept in the refrigerator at 5oC. At 30-day intervals during six months, seeds were plated on semi-selective Reiss medium (1983). The best control was obtained by the mixtures carboxin + thiram and carbendazim + iprodione and the polymer as seed dresser. The control efficiency was improved by the storage time without negatively affecting seed germination. Due to the transmission efficiency, the fungus eradication in seeds should be pursued.

The wheat blast pathogen Pyricularia graminis-tritici has complex origins and a disease cycle spanning multiple grass hosts

The wheat blast disease has been a serious constraint for wheat production in Latin America since the late 1980s. We used a population genomics analysis including 95 genome sequences of the wheat blast pathogen Pyricularia graminis-tritici (Pygt) and other Pyricularia species to show that Pygt is a distinct, highly diverse pathogen species with a broad host range. We assayed 11 neutral SSR loci in 526 Pygt isolates sampled from wheat and other grasses distributed across the wheat-growing region of Brazil to estimate gene flow, assess the importance of sexual reproduction, and compare the genetic structures of Pygt populations infecting wheat and nearby grasses. Our results suggest a mixed reproductive system that includes sexual recombination as well as high levels of gene flow among regions, including evidence for higher gene flow from grass-infecting populations and into wheat-infecting populations than vice versa. The most common virulence groups were shared between the grass- and wheat-infecting Pygt populations, providing additional evidence for movement of Pygt between wheat fields and nearby grasses. Analyses of fruiting body formation found that proto-perithecia and perithecia developed on senescing stems of wheat and other grass hosts, suggesting that sexual reproduction occurs mainly during the saprotrophic phase of the disease cycle on dead residues. Phalaris canariensis (canarygrass) supported the fullest development of perithecia, suggesting it is a promising candidate for identifying the teleomorph in the field. Based on these findings, we formulated a more detailed disease cycle for wheat blast that includes an important role for grasses growing near wheat fields. Our findings strongly suggest that widely grown pasture grasses function as a major reservoir of wheat blast inoculum and provide a temporal and spatial bridge that connects wheat fields across Brazil. Author summary After the first wheat blast epidemic occurred in 1985 in Paraná, Brazil, the disease spread to Bolivia, Argentina, and Paraguay, and was introduced into Bangladesh in 2016 followed by India in 2017. Wheat blast is caused by Pyricularia graminis-tritici (Pygt), a highly diverse pathogen species related to the rice blast fungus P. oryzae, but with an independent origin and a broader host range. We conducted a large scale contemporary sampling of Pygt from symptomatic wheat and other grass species across Brazil and analyzed the genetic structure of Pygt populations. Pygt populations on both wheat and other grasses had high genotypic and virulence diversity, a genetic structure consistent with a mixed reproductive system that includes regular cycles of recombination. The pathogen formed sexual fruiting structures (perithecia) on senescing stems of wheat and other grasses. Historical migration analyses indicated that the majority of gene flow has been from Pygt populations on other grasses and into the Pygt population infecting wheat, consistent with the hypothesis that Pygt originated on other grasses before becoming a wheat pathogen. We found that the Pygt populations infecting wheat were indistinguishable from the Pygt populations infecting other grass species, including signal grass (Urochloa brizantha). Because U. brizantha is a widely grown grass pasture often found next to wheat fields, we propose that it functions as reservoir of Pygt inoculum that provides a temporal and spatial bridge that connects wheat fields in Brazil.

Anthesis, the infectious process and disease progress curves for fusarium head blight in wheat

Fusarium head blight of wheat (Triticum aestivum), caused by the fungus Gibberella zeae, is a floral infecting disease that causes quantitative and qualitative losses to winter cereals. In Brazil, the sanitary situation of wheat has led to research in order to develop strategies for sustainable production, even under adverse weather conditions. To increase the knowledge of the relationship among the presence of anthesis, the infectious process, the disease progress and the saprophytic fungi present in wheat anthers, studies were conducted in the experimental field of University of Passo Fundo (UPF), using the cultivar Marfim, in the 2011 growing season. The disease incidence in spikes and spikelets was evaluated. The presence of exserted anthers increased the spike exposure time to the inoculum. The final incidence of fusarium head blight, in the field, was dependent on the presence of exserted anthers. The disease followed an aggregation pattern and its evolution increased with time, apparently showing growth according to secondary cycles. The fungi isolated from exserted anthers (Alternaria sp., Fusarium sp., Drechslera spp. and Epicoccum sp.) did not compete for the infection site of fusarium head blight in wheat, not interfering with the incidence of F. graminearum.

Quantification of incubation, latent and infection periods of Phakopsora pachyrhizi in soybean, according to chronological time and degree-days

Em experimentos conduzidos em câmara de crescimento determinou-se o tempo cronologico e os graus-dias acumulados para a duracao dos periodos de incubacao, latente e infeccioso de Phakopsora pachyrhizi nas cultivares BRSGO 7560 e BRS 246 RR. Foliolos de soja destacados foram acondicionados em caixas de acrilico tipo gerbox e inoculados com 20 x 103uredosporos/mL. O trabalho foi conduzido com fotoperiodo de 12 horas e nas temperaturas de 10oC, 15oC, 22oC, 25oC e 30oC por 30 dias. Foram avaliadas lesoes e uredias/cm2 e o numero de uredias por lesao quantificados apos o inicio da esporulacao. Tambem foi quantificado o potencial de esporulacao nos cultivares BRSGO 7560 e BRS 246 RR. As fases do processo de infeccao podem ser quantificadas tanto pelo tempo cronologico como pelo calor acumulado. A cultivar BRSGO 7560 produziu 4.012,8 esporos/cm2 e a BRS 246 RR 7.348,4 uredosporos/cm2. O maior numero de uredias foi produzido na temperatura de 25oC em ambas as cultivar, entretanto, a BRS 246 RR apresentou 372,7 uredias/cm2 e a BRSGO 7560, 231,6 uredias/cm2. Nas temperaturas de 10oC e 30°C nao ocorreu infeccao foliar em ambas as cultivares.

Effect of the concentration of inoculum and tensoactive on the efficiency of Bipolaris sorokiniana infection in wheat leaves

Techniques that result in increased pathogen infection rates by employing reduced quantities of fungal spores with sparse sporulation have been developed. Experiments under controlled environment conditions were conducted to evaluate the effect of the density of Bipolaris sorokiniana conidia on the intensity of wheat helminthosporiosis. Using a selected inoculum density, the concentration of the tensoactive (Tween 20) that promoted maximum infection by the causal agent of the disease was determined. The density of lesions and the estimated severity of the disease were quantified. The selected inoculum density was 1.5 x 104 spores.mL-1 plus 480 µL tensoactive.L-1 water, resulting in a disease severity that allows selecting wheat cultivars resistant to B. sorokiniana.