scholarly journals Root Diseases of Wheat and Barley During the Transition from Conventional Tillage to Direct Seeding

Plant Disease ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 90 (9) ◽  
pp. 1247-1253 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. L. Schroeder ◽  
T. C. Paulitz

The use of direct seeding (no-till) in place of tillage can reduce soil erosion and improve water infiltration. However, despite these improvements in soil quality, growers in the Pacific Northwest are reluctant to adopt direct seeding, partially because of fears of increased root diseases caused by Gaeumannomyces graminis var. tritici, Rhizoctonia spp., and Pythium spp. To examine the effect of the transition from conventional tillage to direct seeding, field plots were established at two locations. One site had been managed with direct seeding for 12 years, and the second had been conventionally tilled. Over 4 years, a portion of each plot was tilled or direct seeded, and planted to wheat or barley. Plants in the tilled plots had consistently more crown roots than plants in direct-seeded plots. Rhizoctonia root rot and yield did not differ between tillage types during the first 2 years of the study. However, in the third and fourth years of the transition to direct seeding, a higher incidence of Rhizoctonia root rot, increased hyphal activity of R. solani, and reduced yields were observed in direct-seeded plots. Populations of R. oryzae and Pythium spp., and incidence of take-all were the same for both management practices.

1997 ◽  
Vol 87 (5) ◽  
pp. 551-558 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dal-Soo Kim ◽  
R. James Cook ◽  
David M. Weller

Strain L324-92 is a novel Bacillus sp. with biological activity against three root diseases of wheat, namely take-all caused by Gaeumannomyces graminis var. tritici, Rhizoctonia root rot caused by Rhizoctonia solani AG8, and Pythium root rot caused mainly by Pythium irregulare and P. ultimum, that exhibits broad-spectrum inhibitory activity and grows at temperatures from 4 to 40°C. These three root diseases are major yieldlimiting factors for wheat in the U.S. Inland Pacific Northwest, especially wheat direct-drilled into the residue of a previous cereal crop. Strain L324-92 was selected from among approximately 2,000 rhizosphere/rhizoplane isolates of Bacillus species isolated from roots of wheat collected from two eastern Washington wheat fields that had long histories of wheat. Roots were washed, heat-treated (80°C for 30 min), macerated, and dilution-plated on 1/10-strength tryptic soy agar. Strain L324-92 inhibited all isolates of G. graminis var. tritici, Rhizoctonia species and anastomosis groups, and Pythium species tested on agar at 15°C; provided significant suppression of all three root diseases at 15°C in growth chamber assays; controlled either Rhizoctonia root rot, takeall, or both; and increased yields in field tests in which one or more of the three root diseases of wheats were yield-limiting factors. The ability of L324-92 to grow at 4°C probably contributes to its biocontrol activity on direct-drilled winter and spring wheat because, under Inland Northwest conditions, leaving harvest residues of the previous crop on the soil surface keeps soils cooler compared with tilled soils. These results suggest that Bacillus species with desired traits for biological control of wheat root diseases are present within the community of wheat rhizosphere microorganisms and can be recovered by protocols developed earlier for isolation of fluorescent Pseudomonas species effective against take-all.


Plant Disease ◽  
2002 ◽  
Vol 86 (7) ◽  
pp. 780-784 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. James Cook ◽  
David M. Weller ◽  
Adel Youssef El-Banna ◽  
Dan Vakoch ◽  
Hao Zhang

Field trials were conducted with winter and spring wheat in eastern Washington and northern Idaho over several years to determine the benefit, as measured by grain yield, of seed treatments with rhizobacteria and formulated fungicides in cropping systems favorable to root diseases. The trials were conducted with wheat direct-seeded (no-till) in fields with a history of intensive cereals and one or more of the root diseases: take-all caused by Gaeumannomyces graminis var. tritici, Rhizoctonia root rot caused by Rhizoctonia solani AG8 and R. oryzae, and Pythium root rot caused mainly by Pythium irregulare and P. ultimum. The seed treatments included Bacillus sp. L324-92, Pseudomonas fluorescens Q69c-80, Pseudomonas fluorescens Q8r1-96, difenoconazole + metalaxyl (Dividend + Apron), difenoconazole + mefenoxam (Dividend + Apron XL = Dividend XL), tebuconazole + metalaxyl (Raxil XT), and tebuconazole + thiram (Raxil-thiram). Controls were nontreated seed planted into both nontreated (natural) soil and soil fumigated with methyl bromide just prior to planting. Although the data indicate a trend in higher wheat yields with two rhizobacteria treatments over the nontreated control (171 and 264 kg/ha, respectively), these higher yields were not significantly different from the nontreated control (P = 0.06). Fungicide seed treatments alone similarly resulted in yields that were 100 to 300 kg/ha higher than the nontreated control, but only the yield responses to Dividend on winter wheat (289 kg/ha) and Dividend + Apron on spring wheat (263 kg/ha) were significant (P ≤ 0.05). The greatest yield increases over the nontreated control occurred with certain rhizobacteria-fungicide combinations, with three treatments in the range of 312 to 486 kg/ha (6.1 to 17.7%; P ≤ 0.05). Some rhizobacteria-fungicide combinations brought average yields to within 85 to 90% of those obtained with soil fumigation. Only soil fumigation produced a measurable reduction in the incidence of take-all and Rhizoctonia root rot, as assessed on washed roots. No reliable method exists for visual quantification of Pythium root rot on wheat.


2008 ◽  
Vol 98 (3) ◽  
pp. 304-314 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. L. Schroeder ◽  
T. C. Paulitz

Rhizoctonia spp. cause substantial yield losses in direct-seeded cereal crops compared with conventional tillage. To investigate the mechanisms behind this increased disease, soils from tilled or direct-seeded fields were inoculated with Rhizoctonia spp. at population densities from 0.8 to 250 propagules per gram and planted with barley (Hordeum vulgare). The incidence and severity of disease did not differ between soils with different tillage histories. Both R. solani AG-8 and R. oryzae stunted plants at high inoculum densities, with the latter causing pre-emergence damping-off. High inoculum densities of both species stimulated early production of crown roots in barley seedlings. Intact soil cores from these same tilled and direct-seeded fields were used to evaluate the growth of Rhizoctonia spp. from colonized oat seeds. Growth of R. oryzae was not affected by previous tillage history. However, R. solani AG-8 grew more rapidly through soil from a long-term direct-seeded field compared to tilled soils. The differential response between these two experiments (mixed, homogenized soil versus intact soil) suggests that soil structure plays a major role in the proliferation of R. solani AG-8 through soils with different tillage histories.


1991 ◽  
Vol 31 (3) ◽  
pp. 367 ◽  
Author(s):  
RFde Boer ◽  
JF Kollmorgen ◽  
BJ Macauley ◽  
PR Franz ◽  
Boer RF De

The effects of method, time and number of cultivations on root diseases and yield of wheat were studied in a field experiment, in 1985, on a calcareous sandy loam in the Victorian Mallee. The incidence and severity of rhizoctonia root rot (Rhizoctonia solani) were higher in direct-drilled wheat than in wheat sown after cultivation. Compared with direct drilling, the severity of rhizoctonia root rot in seedlings was reduced by 40% with cultivation 20 weeks before sowing; by 70% with cultivation 1 day before sowing; and by 90% with 2 cultivations, the first at 16 weeks and the second 1 day before sowing. Cultivation generally increased the incidence of common root rot (Bipolaris sorokiniana) but had no significant effects on the severity of damage by the cereal cyst nematode (Heterodera avenae) or the number of nematode cysts produced, compared with direct drilling. The incidence and severity of root diseases, and the number of H. avenae cysts produced, were not significantly different in wheat sown after rotary hoeing than in wheat sown after scarifying. The severity of damage by H. avenae, the number of nematode cysts and the incidence of common root rot were higher (45, 70 and 36%, respectively) when scarifying was done 1 day before sowing, compared with scarifying 20 weeks earlier. Differences in sowing depth probably caused this effect since seed was sown deeper (as indicated by subcrown internode lengths) and plant emergence was less in the latter treatment. The timing and number of cultivations with a rotary hoe, however, did not significantly affect the severity of damage by H. avenae, the number of nematode cysts or the incidence of common root rot. The incidence of common root rot was correlated (r = 0.71) with the subcrown internode lengths, indicating that the deeper the seed was sown the greater the proportion of plants with the disease. Dry weight of seedlings and grain yield were negatively correlated (r = -0.79 and -0.66) with the severity of damage caused by H. avenae. Plant dry weight and grain yield were, however, not correlated with the severity of rhizoctonia root rot or the incidence of common root rot.


2020 ◽  
Vol 110 (5) ◽  
pp. 1010-1017
Author(s):  
Jibin Zhang ◽  
Dmitri V. Mavrodi ◽  
Mingming Yang ◽  
Linda S. Thomashow ◽  
Olga V. Mavrodi ◽  
...  

A four-gene operon (prnABCD) from Pseudomonas protegens Pf-5 encoding the biosynthesis of the antibiotic pyrronitrin was introduced into P. synxantha (formerly P. fluorescens) 2-79, an aggressive root colonizer of both dryland and irrigated wheat roots that naturally produces the antibiotic phenazine-1-carboxylic acid and suppresses both take-all and Rhizoctonia root rot of wheat. Recombinant strains ZHW15 and ZHW25 produced both antibiotics and maintained population sizes in the rhizosphere of wheat that were comparable to those of strain 2-79. The recombinant strains inhibited in vitro the wheat pathogens Rhizoctonia solani anastomosis group 8 (AG-8) and AG-2-1, Gaeumannomyces graminis var. tritici, Sclerotinia sclerotiorum, Fusarium culmorum, and F. pseudograminearum significantly more than did strain 2-79. Both the wild-type and recombinant strains were equally inhibitory of Pythium ultimum. When applied as a seed treatment, the recombinant strains suppressed take-all, Rhizoctonia root rot of wheat, and Rhizoctonia root and stem rot of canola significantly better than did wild-type strain 2-79.


Soil Research ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 57 (4) ◽  
pp. 321 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rowena S. Davey ◽  
Ann M. McNeill ◽  
Stephen J. Barnett ◽  
Vadakattu V. S. R. Gupta

Soil-borne plant root disease caused by Rhizoctonia solani AG8 is prevalent in cereal farming systems worldwide, particularly in semiarid agricultural regions. A controlled environment study was undertaken using three Australian soils to test the hypothesis that OM input from crop roots and residues decreases infection by Rhizoctonia root rot via biologically mediated disease suppression. The specific aim was to determine the relative effect of two different OM inputs (wheat stubble or roots) on (a) abundance (DNA) of the pathogen R. solani AG8 and soil organisms putatively associated with disease suppression, and (b) incidence of Rhizoctonia root rot infection of wheat seedlings (% root infected). An increase in microbial biomass carbon (C) following OM amendment indicated a potential for enhanced general biological disease suppression in all soils. OM inputs also increased the population size (DNA) of certain bacteria and fungi putatively associated with specific suppression for Rhizoctonia root rot, suggesting a C resource-mediated change in microbial functions related to disease suppression. There were no significant changes to measured pathogens with stubble addition. However, OM inputs via root residues and rhizodeposits from living roots increased the populations of R. solani AG8 and Gaeumannomyces graminis var. tritici so that in subsequently planted wheat there was greater incidence of root disease infection and reduced plant shoot and root DM compared with that following OM input as stubble. Differences between soils in terms of plant and soil organism responses to each OM input suggest that abiotic factors modify the development of biological disease suppression and the expression of the disease.


Plant Disease ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 94 (5) ◽  
pp. 504-509 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. E. Hanson

In recent years, growers in Michigan and other sugar beet (Beta vulgaris) production areas of the United States have reported increasing incidence of root rot with little or no crown or foliar symptoms in sugar beet with Rhizoctonia crown and root rot. In addition, Rhizoctonia-resistant beets have been reported with higher levels of disease than expected. In examining beets with Rhizoctonia root rot in Michigan, over 50% of sampled roots had a second potential root rot pathogen, Rhizopus stolonifer. Growing conditions generally were not conducive to disease production by this pathogen alone, so we investigated the potential for interaction between these two pathogens. In greenhouse tests, four of five sugar beet varieties had more severe root rot symptoms when inoculated with both pathogens than when inoculated with either pathogen alone. This synergism occurred under conditions that were not conducive to disease production by R. stolonifer. Host resistance to Rhizoctonia crown and root rot reduced diseases severity, but was insufficient to control the disease when both pathogens were present. This raises concerns about correct disease diagnosis and management practices and indicates that a root rot complex may be important on sugar beet in Michigan.


2008 ◽  
Vol 101 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 37-43 ◽  
Author(s):  
R DAVIS ◽  
D HUGGINS ◽  
R COOK ◽  
T PAULITZ

1998 ◽  
Vol 78 (1) ◽  
pp. 145-150 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. L. Bailey ◽  
Guy P. Lafond ◽  
Daryl Domitruk

Changes in tillage and other agronomic practices have shown benefits of increased grain yield for many crops, but these changes may alter the micro-environment resulting in changes to populations of disease-causing agents and other micro-organisms. This study examined the effects of row spacing (10, 20, 30 cm), seeding rate (54, 108, 161 kg ha−1 for barley; 67, 134, 202 kg ha−1 for spring wheat) and seed-placed phosphorus (0, 8, 16 kg ha−1) on root diseases in spring wheat and barley using a zero-tillage production system in four environments. Root rot severity was assessed by visual ratings and the causal agents were identified. Analyses of variance indicated significant differences in root rot severity and the incidence of some causal agents for the main treatment effects (i.e. row spacing, seeding rate, seed-placed phosphorus) and no significant interactions between locations, years, and cultural practices. Contrasts of treatment means showed that higher rates of seeding decreased root rot severity and the incidence of Fusarium in wheat but these effects were small (less than 6%). The higher rates of monoammonium phosphate fertilizer reduced root rot severity in barley by 7% and the incidence of Gaeumannomyces graminis var. tritici in wheat by greater than 40%. Wider row spacings showed a small reduction of 6% in root rot severity in wheat but mostly had no effect on root diseases. Wheat yields were negatively associated with root rot severity in three of four environments. Fertility, root rot severity, and seeding rate had the greatest impact on wheat yield. Root diseases did not affect barley yields. Therefore, the use of wider row spacings and higher seeding rates with zero tillage practices will not lead to adverse effects on root diseases in wheat and barley. Phosphorus fertilizer should be used to reduce losses resulting from take-all disease in wheat. Key words: Zero tillage, cultural practices, common root rot, take-all, cereals


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