E. K. Dann

Effect of treating soybean with 2,6-dichloroisonicotinic acid (INA) and benzothiadiazole (BTH) on seed yields and the level of disease caused by Sclerotinia sclerotiorum in field and greenhouse studies

Field or greenhouse grown soybeans were treated with 2,6-dichloroisonicotinic acid or benzothiadiazole and subsequently assessed for severity of white mold disease caused by Sclerotinia sclerotiorum. Three or four applications of 2,6-dichloroisonicotinic acid to field plots in 1993–1995 reduced severity of white mold after natural infection by 20–70% compared with water-treated controls in soybean cultivars Elgin 87 and Williams 82, which are considered to be highly susceptible to the disease. The effect was not as large in the cultivars Corsoy 79 and NKS19-90 which are more resistant to white mold. Two or four applications of benzothiadiazole to field plots in 1995 and 1996 reduced white mold severity by 20–60%, with the greatest reductions again observed in the more susceptible cultivars. Corresponding yields were increased compared with controls, particularly for the susceptible cultivars under conditions of high disease pressure. In greenhouse trials multiple applications of either compound resulted in significantly smaller lesion diameters following subsequent leaf inoculations with the fungus. The compounds did not result in observable phytotoxicity or inhibit growth of Sclerotinia sp. in vitro. We hypothesize that the decrease in disease severity following treatment with INA or BTH is a result of resistance induction.

Suppression of Sclerotinia stem rot of soybean by lactofen herbicide treatment

ABSTRACT Severity of Sclerotinia stem rot of soybean after treatment with lactofen (Cobra) and other herbicides was assessed in field experiments conducted in Michigan from 1995 to 1997. At sites where disease pressure was high, disease severity was reduced 40 to 60% compared with controls when lactofen was applied at the V3 (1995 and 1996) or R1 (1997) growth stages. Corresponding seed yields were unchanged or up to 20% greater when lactofen was applied at the R1 stage in 1997. Disease severity was not reduced by lactofen treatments in years and at sites where disease pressure was low to medium, and corresponding yields often were reduced by 10%. High levels of glyceollin accumulated in lactofen-injured leaves collected from field plots in 1996 and 1997. High glyceollin content in lactofen-treated leaves was associated with significant reductions in lesion size when leaves were challenge-inoculated with Sclerotinia sclerotiorum.

An inordinate fondness for Fusarium: Phylogenetic diversity of fusaria cultivated by ambrosia beetles in the genus Euwallacea on avocado and other plant hosts

Ambrosia beetle fungiculture represents one of the most ecologically and evolutionarily successful symbioses, as evidenced by the 11 independent origins and 3500 species of ambrosia beetles. Here we document the evolution of a clade within Fusarium associated with ambrosia beetles in the genus Euwallacea (Coleoptera: Scolytinae). Ambrosia Fusarium Clade (AFC) symbionts are unusual in that some are plant pathogens that cause significant damage in naïve natural and cultivated ecosystems, and currently threaten avocado production in the United States, Israel and Australia. Most AFC fusaria produce unusual clavate macroconidia that serve as a putative food source for their insect mutualists. AFC symbionts were abundant in the heads of four Euwallacea spp., which suggests that they are transported within and from the natal gallery in mandibular mycangia. In a four-locus phylogenetic analysis, the AFC was resolved in a strongly supported monophyletic group within the previously described Clade 3 of the Fusarium solani species complex (FSSC). Divergence-time estimates place the origin of the AFC in the early Miocene ∼21.2 Mya, which coincides with the hypothesized adaptive radiation of the Xyleborini. Two strongly supported clades within the AFC (Clades A and B) were identified that include nine species lineages associated with ambrosia beetles, eight with Euwallacea spp. and one reportedly with Xyleborus ferrugineus, and two lineages with no known beetle association. More derived lineages within the AFC showed fixation of the clavate (club-shaped) macroconidial trait, while basal lineages showed a mix of clavate and more typical fusiform macroconidia. AFC lineages consisted mostly of genetically identical individuals associated with specific insect hosts in defined geographic locations, with at least three interspecific hybridization events inferred based on discordant placement in individual gene genealogies and detection of recombinant loci. Overall, these data are consistent with a strong evolutionary trend toward obligate symbiosis coupled with secondary contact and interspecific hybridization.

Peas grown in media with elevated plant-available silicon levels have higher activities of chitinase and β-1,3-glucanase, are less susceptible to a fungal leaf spot pathogen and accumulate more foliar silicon

Pea seedlings grown for 5 weeks in a growing medium amended with potassium silicate fertiliser had significantly greater activities of the enzymes chitinase and β-1,3-glucanase in leaf extracts compared with those grown in coir-based control mix, prior to challenge by a foliar pathogen. Additionally, fewer lesions developed on pea leaves inoculated with the fungal pathogen Mycosphaerella pinodes 5 weeks after growth in the Si-amended mix. Plant-available Si, as monosilicic acid, in the Si-amended mix was more than five times that in the control mix. Peas accumulated nearly twice as much silicon (w/w dried foliage) after 3 weeks growth in an alternative potting mix amended with silicon from rice hull derivatives, as those grown in a conventional perlite/sand medium as control. The monosilicic acid content of the rice hull mix was approximately three times greater than that of the perlite/sand mix. There were no significant differences in dry weights between plants from control and Si-amended mixes. The results suggest associations in pea between available silicon in growth media, accumulation of Si within the plant, early activation of host defences and subsequent resistance to fungal pathogens, with potential for reduction and control of diseases.

Two novel mastreviruses from chickpea (Cicer arietinum) in Australia

Two novel mastreviruses (genus Mastrevirus; family Geminiviridae), with proposed names chickpea chlorosis virus (CpCV) and chickpea redleaf virus, are described from chickpea (Cicer arietinum) from eastern Australia. The viruses have genomes of 2,582 and 2,605 nucleotides, respectively, and share similar features and organisation with typical dicot-infecting mastreviruses. Two distinct strains of CpCV were suggested by phylogenetic analysis. Additionally, a partial mastrevirus Rep sequence from turnip weed (Rapistrum rugosum) indicated the presence of a distinct strain of Tobacco yellow dwarf virus (TYDV). In phylogenetic analyses, isolates of Bean yellow dwarf virus, Chickpea chlorotic dwarf Pakistan virus and Chickpea chlorotic dwarf Sudan virus from southern and northern Africa and south-central and western Asia clustered separately from these three viruses from Australia. An Australian, eastern Asian, or south-eastern Asian origin for the novel mastreviruses and TYDV is discussed.

Foliar, fruit and soilborne diseases

This chapter provides an in-depth review of important diseases affecting avocado production throughout the world. The importance of understanding the interaction of plant pathogens with their avocado host in order for the development of disease management options is also discussed.

Induced Resistance in Legumes

Induced resistance is taken to mean heightened resistance in a plant towards pathogens as a result of a previous treatment with a pathogen, an attenuated pathogen or a chemical that is not itself a pesticide. This review chapter is concerned with induced resistance in leguminous plants. It particularly seeks and evaluates evidence for induced resistance to fungal and bacterial pathogens, but makes occasional reference to induced resistance towards viruses and pests where this is related to its main theme. For more extensive coverage of induced resistance to viruses, see Fraser (1985) and Ponz and Bruening (1986). For coverage of induced resistance to pests, see Tallamy and Raupp (1991).

Mastreviruses in chickpea (Cicer arietinum) and other dicotyledonous crops and weeds in Queensland and northern New South Wales, Australia.

Natural infection by mastreviruses was investigated in chickpea (Cicer arietinum) and other dicotyledonous crops and weeds in grain production areas of Queensland and northern New South Wales, Australia, from 2000 to 2005. Altogether, 33 639 plants comprising 31 species and 10 dicot families were screened for infection by a tissue-blot immunoassay that did not distinguish between mastrevirus strains or species. Nine plant species in three families were identified as natural hosts. Chickpea was infected throughout the region although infection incidence did not exceed 5%. Infection was rare in faba bean (Vicia faba), canola (Brassica napus), and mustard (B. juncea) and not detected in field pea (Pisum sativum). Infection of chickpea and turnip weed (Rapistrum rugosum) was confirmed by immunocapture polymerase chain reaction (IC-PCR) with primers generic for dicot-infecting mastreviruses, and also immunosorbent electron microscopy and graft transmission in the case of chickpea. Individual mastreviruses were identified by comparing their IC-PCR amplicons by a combination of methods. Among 42 isolates from 41 chickpea plants, one was typical Tobacco yellow dwarf virus (TYDV) and the others were three recently distinguished strains including two proposed novel species: 34 Chickpea chlorosis virus strain A, six Chickpea chlorosis virus strain B, and one Chickpea redleaf virus. All of 10 isolates from 10 turnip weed plants were TYDV-B, a strain distinct from typical TYDV. The symptoms associated with mastrevirus infection in chickpea included foliar chlorosis or reddening, stunting, and usually phloem browning. The potential for losses in winter and summer grown field crops is discussed.

First report of Tomato spotted wilt virus in chickpea (Cicer arietinum) in Australia.

Tomato spotted wilt virus (genus Tospovirus) is recorded on chickpea (Cicer arietinum) in Australia for the first time. It caused shoot tip symptoms of wilting, necrosis, bunching and chlorosis, followed by premature death of plants.

First record of natural infection of chickpea by Turnip mosaic virus

Turnip mosaic virus (TuMV) was identified in chickpea (Cicer arietinum) plants with tip wilting symptoms in a commercial crop in northern New South Wales, Australia. This is a new disease record for chickpea worldwide as well as for legumes in Australia. Koch’s postulates were satisfied for TuMV as a cause of the tip wilting in chickpea.