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2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 77-156
Keyword(s):  

Plant Health Progress Vol. 21 No. 2

Author(s):  
Robin A. Choudhury ◽  
Sydney E. Everhart

The I. E. Melhus Symposium is a prestigious event that takes place as part of the annual meeting of the American Phytopathology Society. The 19th symposium highlights some of the best and brightest graduate students in epidemiology on the theme Data Driven Plant Health. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the entire meeting was online. Despite the challenges, the awardees successfully presented their research to a live online audience of more than 150 attendees. The five research projects are collected in this issue of Plant Health Progress.


2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 215-218 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chandrasekar S. Kousik ◽  
Lina M. Quesada-Ocampo ◽  
Anthony Keinath ◽  
Mary Hausbeck ◽  
Leah Granke ◽  
...  

Diseases caused by oomycete plant pathogens result in devastating losses to agriculture and native forests, despite the significant research efforts that have advanced our understanding of these organisms. Limiting these pathogens has been challenging to plant pathologists and plant health practitioners. In this first focus issue , titled Managing Stubborn Oomycete Plant Pathogens, Plant Health Progress has assembled an array of manuscripts on the biology and management of Phytophthora, Pythium, Pseudoperonospora, Peronospora, and Aphanomyces spp. This focus issue has 28 peer-reviewed papers including three diagnostic guides, three mini-reviews, three briefs, two surveys, and 17 research papers. Of the 28 papers, 20 are on diseases caused by Phytophthora, four on Pythium, three on downy mildews, and one on Aphanomyces. All advance our understanding of these stubborn oomycete pathogens.


Plant Disease ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 93 (6) ◽  
pp. 674-674 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Bag ◽  
J. Singh ◽  
R. M. Davis ◽  
W. Chounet ◽  
H. R. Pappu

The disease caused by thrips-transmitted Iris yellow spot virus (IYSV; genus Tospovirus, family Bunyaviridae) has become a major constraint to bulb and seed onion crops in several parts of the country and the world (1,3). As part of an ongoing survey for IYSV incidence in onion in the western United States, commercial fields in Lyon County, Nevada and several commercial fields in the northern Californian counties of Colusa, San Benito, Sutter, and Yolo were surveyed during the summer of 2008. Symptomatic plants were found widespread in northern California, especially in seed-production fields. In Lyon County, NV, symptoms were observed only on volunteer onions in one commercial field. Symptoms on leaves and scapes included characteristic diamond-shaped lesions with or without green islands. Four samples from Nevada and fourteen from northern California were tested by double-antibody sandwich (DAS)-ELISA using a commercially available kit (Agdia Inc., Elkhart, IN). All tested samples were found positive in ELISA. IYSV infection was verified by reverse transcription (RT)-PCR. Total nucleic acids were prepared from symptomatic tissue, and primers specific to the small (S) RNA of IYSV were used to amplify an approximate 1.2-kb region of the S-RNA. This region included the complete nucleoprotein (N) gene (2). The amplicons from one sample each from Nevada and northern California were sequenced (GenBank Accession Nos. FJ713699 and FJ713700, respectively). Sequence analysis showed that the amplicons contained a single open reading frame of 822 bp, coding for a 273-amino acid N protein, and the gene shared 96 to 98% identity with known IYSV N gene sequences. To our knowledge, this is the first report of IYSV in onion in Nevada. In California, outbreaks of IYSV had been reported earlier in Imperial Valley and Antelope Valley in southern California (4), and the disease has been increasing in incidence in bulb and seed crops in northern California, as well. California and Nevada are major onion-producing states in the United States and regular surveys to determine the incidence and impact on yield are needed to develop an integrated disease management program. References: (1) D. H. Gent et al. Plant Dis. 90:1468, 2006. (2) H. R. Pappu et al. Arch. Virol. 151:1015, 2006. (3) H. R. Pappu and M. E. Matheron. Online publication. doi:10.1094/PHP-2008-0711-01-BR. Plant Health Progress, 2008. (4) G. J. Poole et al. Online publication. doi:10.1094/PHP-2007-0508-01-BR. Plant Health Progress, 2007.


2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-76
Keyword(s):  

Plant Health Progress Vol. 21 No. 1


Plant Disease ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 93 (12) ◽  
pp. 1352-1352 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Stanosz ◽  
D. Smith ◽  
L. Bernier

Shoots affected by powdery mildew were collected from Siberian pea trees in July 2009 on the University of Wisconsin–Madison campus and on the campus of Université Laval, Quebec City, Quebec. This exotic shrub or small tree is infrequently planted in Wisconsin and three shrubs in a group that were affected are the only examples known on the UW–Madison campus. In Quebec City, Siberian pea tree is more commonly used as an ornamental, often in hedges (as is the case of the affected plants on the Université Laval campus). In both locations, <10% of foliage was visibly affected, but incidence was greater on shoots closer to the ground than on higher shoots. White-to-grayish mycelium was present on leaves and young stems and sometimes completely covered both upper and lower leaf surfaces. Dark brown-to-black chasmothecia were numerous on leaf blades, petioles, and young stems, but were most abundant on lower surfaces of leaves. Morphology of chasmothecia, including appendages with distinctive terminal dichotomous branching, (1) was consistent with descriptions and illustrations of the fungus Erysiphe palczewskii Jacz. (synonym Microsphaera palczewskii) (1–4) thought to be native to Asia, but also known as an invader of Europe where it occurs on the same host. For a sample from Université Laval, mean diameter of chasmothecia was 113 μm, mean appendage length was 185 μm, and barrel-shaped conidia that lacked fibrosin bodies averaged 30 × 14 μm. Asci contained oval, yellow ascospores with mean dimensions of 20 × 12 μm. DNA was extracted from chasmothecia, and nuclear rDNA sequences (633 nucleotides) of the Wisconsin (GenBank Accession No. GQ497277) and Quebec (GenBank Accession No. GQ497276) specimens differed by only one nucleotide. The sequences that were obtained most closely matched GenBank sequences for Oidium spp. (98%) and Erysiphe spp. (97%). Further observations indicated that the same pathogen affected Siberian pea trees planted as ornamentals at several locations separated by ≥15 km in the metropolitan Quebec area. This report extends the eastern known limit of E. palczewskii in the United States, previously known from collections in Alaska (2), Washington (4), Idaho (4), North Dakota (3), and Minnesota (3). To our knowledge, this is the first report of this disease in Canada, and it indicates that the distribution of E. palczewskii is transcontinental. Specimens from Madison, WI and Quebec, QC have been deposited in the U.S. National Fungus Collections (BPI 879152) and the Rene Pomerleau Herbarium of the Canadian Forest Service Laurentian Forestry Centre (QFB-22601). References: (1) U. Braun. Beih. Nova Hedwigia 89:1, 1987. (2) D. A. Glawe and G. A. Laursen. Online publication. doi:10:1094/PHP-2005-1017-01-BR. Plant Health Progress, 2005. (3) D. A. Glawe et al. Online publication. doi:10.1094/PHP-2006-0117-01-BR. Plant Health Progress, 2006. (4) C. Nischwitz and G. Newcombe. Plant Dis. 87:451, 2003.


Plant Disease ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 95 (7) ◽  
pp. 879-879
Author(s):  
R. N. Trigiano ◽  
A. J. Dattilo ◽  
P. A. Wadl

Ruth's golden aster (Pityopsis ruthii (Small) Small: Asteraceae) is an endangered, herbaceous perennial that occurs only at a few sites along small reaches of the Hiwassee and Ocoee rivers in Polk County, Tennessee. As part of a planned restoration program, Ruth's golden aster has been micropropagated in vitro and acclimatized to greenhouse conditions. In February 2011, several established plants in a greenhouse in Knoxville, TN exhibited signs and symptoms of powdery mildew including growth of white mycelium and conidiophores on the adaxial surface of leaves and slight curling upward of leaf margins. Mycelium was superficial and nipple-shaped appressoria were present. Mycelia, conidiophores, and conidia were removed from several leaves, mounted in water, and examined microscopically. Cylindrical to ovoid conidia (n = 100) lacking fibrosin bodies were borne in chains and had a mean length of 32.0 μm (19.2 to 38.7 μm) and width of 14.9 μm (6.3 to 21.2 μm). The description and dimension of the conidia agreed well with that provided for Golovinomyces cichoracearum (Erysiphe cichoracearum) reported on Coreopsis spp. (1,3) and Cirsium arvense (creeping thistle) (2). The teleomorph was not observed. Total genomic DNA was extracted from infected leaves, amplified with ITS1 and ITS4 primers for the 18S rRNA subunit (4), and visualized on a 2% ethidium bromide agarose gel. An amplicon of fungal origin, approximately 550 bp and smaller than the approximately 700-bp plant ITS amplicon, was excised, purified, and then sequenced. This sequence was deposited in GenBank (Accession No. JF779687) and was 99% identical to two G. cichoracearum accessions (Nos. AB77627 and AB77625). Infected leaves were rubbed on leaves of four healthy plants and healthy leaves were rubbed onto other healthy leaves of two additional plants as controls in the greenhouse. Signs of powdery mildew developed on those plants inoculated with infected leaves after 7 to 10 days and the morphology of the fungus was identical to our previous description. To our knowledge, this is the first report of G. cichoracearum (E. cichoracearum) infecting Ruth's golden aster. We are not aware of the disease occurring in wild populations of the plant, but it does impact the production of micropropagated plants in the greenhouse. References: (1) D. A. Glawe et al. Online publication. doi:10.1094/PHP-2006-0405-01-BR. Plant Health Progress, 2006. (2) G. Newcombe and C. Nischwitz. Plant Dis. 88:312, 2004. (3) T. E. Seijo et al. Online publication. doi: 10.1094/PHP-2006-1214-01-BR. Plant Health Progress, 2006. (4) T. J. White et al. Page 315 in: PCR Protocols: A Guide to Methods and Applications. M. A. Innis et al., eds. Academic Press Inc, New York, 1990.


Plant Disease ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 98 (10) ◽  
pp. 1439-1439 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Radisek ◽  
B. Ceh ◽  
M. Oset Luskar ◽  
J. Jakse ◽  
B. Javornik

Camelina or false flax (Camelina sativa), of the Brassicaceae, is an annual flowering plant native to Europe and Central Asia where it is grown commercially as an oilseed crop. At the end of May 2012, symptoms of downy mildew were observed on camelina plants grown in the Savinja Valley in Slovenia. The disease was found in four monitored fields (total area 3 ha), and the incidence ranged from 2 to 38% depending on the variety. Symptomatic plants showed whitish, abundant, and fluffy mycelia covering the stems, flowers, seed pods, and undersides of the leaves. The disease mainly affected the upper half of the plants, and the stems were reduced and distorted. During disease progression, the mycelium turned from gray to black. Microscopic observations revealed hyaline, straight conidiophores that were branched monopodially (3 to 4 times) with 6 to 12 re-curved tips/branch, and measured 140 to 300 × 12 to 20 μm. Conidia were hyaline, oval to broadly ellipsoidal, 24 to 29 × 18 to 24 μm. Oospores formed in necrotic stem and leaf tissues were dark brown and measured 30 to 38 μm in diameter. Based on these morphological characteristics, the causal agent was identified as Hyaloperonospora camelinae (1,3,4,5). DNA was extracted from mycelium and conidia collected from infected plants in two fields in the Savinja Valley (1HpC and 2HpC). Nuclear internal transcribed spacer (ITS) regions of ribosomal DNA (rDNA) were amplified by PCR assay from two isolates using the universal primers ITS4 and ITS5, and sequenced. Both samples yielded a 781-bp sequence, which showed 100% identity to H. camelinae ITS sequence JX445136 in GenBank. The nucleotide sequence was assigned to GenBank Accession No. KJ768405. Pathogenicity was confirmed by spraying 25 3-week-old plants of C. sativa cv. Ligena planted in pots (5 plants/pot) with a conidial suspension (105 conidia/ml) obtained from 10 infected plants of the same variety collected from the field 1HpC. Inoculated plants were covered with polyethylene bags for 2 days to maintain high humidity, and incubated at 20°C with a 12-h photoperiod/day in a growth chamber. Downy mildew symptoms first developed on leaves 6 days after inoculation. An additional 25 control plants sprayed with sterilized distilled water and otherwise treated similarly to the inoculated plants developed no symptoms. The identity of the pathogen on the inoculated plants as H. camelinae was confirmed based on the morphological features described above. Downy mildew of false flax caused by H. camelinae has been reported in Europe from Austria, Bulgaria, Germany, Poland, Portugal, Spain, and Switzerland (2); and in the United States from Florida, Oregon, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, and Washington (1,3,4,5). To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of downy mildew caused by H. camelinae on C. sativa in Slovenia. The representative samples were deposited in the phytopatological herbarium of the Slovenian Institute of Hop Research and Brewing. References: (1) E. M. Babiker et al. Plant Dis. 96:1670, 2012. (2) D. F. Farr and A. Y. Rossman, Fungal Databases, Syst. Mycol. Microbiol. Lab. Retrieved from http://nt.ars-grin.gov/fungaldatabases/ . (3) R. M. Harveson et al. Plant Health Progress. doi: 10.1094/PHP-2011-1014-01-BR, 2011. (4) M. L. Putnam et al. Plant Health Progress. doi: 10.1094/PHP-2009-0910-01-BR, 2009. (5) P. Srivastava et al. Plant Dis. 96:1692, 2012.


Plant Disease ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 96 (11) ◽  
pp. 1692-1692 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Srivastava ◽  
H. M. Young ◽  
J. J. Marois ◽  
D. L. Wright ◽  
H. Dankers ◽  
...  

Camelina sativa (L.) Crantz, Brassicaceae, whose common name is Crantz-large-seeded false flax, is an annual oilseed species. It is grown as a forage and biofuel crop in Europe and North America. False flax is an ideal low-input crop for biodiesel production, because of its low requirements for nitrogen fertilizer and pesticides. Production costs of this crop are substantially lower than those of many other oilseed crops such as rapeseed, corn, and soybean. It is an excellent rotation crop and can reduce disease and insect and weed pressure in wheat fields. During the spring of 2011, commercial and research plantings of C. sativa cultivar Calena in Liberty and Gadsden counties in north Florida developed symptoms typical of downy mildew. In spring of 2012, the same symptoms were observed in experimental plantings of false flax. A white downy mold was observed on the upper third portion of the plants, on the upper stem internodes, and on the developing seed. The affected stems exhibited a twisted growth. Conidiophores had main trunks with dichotomous branches terminating in slender curved tips. Conidia were ovoid and 28 to 45 (mean 36) μm long and 22 to 38 (mean 30) μm wide. Conidiophores were branched (three to four branches, each with six to eight curved tips) and ranged from 107 to 236 μm long and 5 to 14 μm wide. Mycelium was obtained directly from diseased plants for DNA extraction (Qiagen DNeasy Plant Mini Kit, Valencia, CA). Primers ITS1 and ITS4 were used for PCR amplification (4). The PCR product was sequenced bidirectionally with the PCR primers. A consensus nucleotide sequence (Accession JQ997103) was compared to those in the NCBI GenBank database using a BLAST search. The sequence was 99% similar to sequence from Hyaloperonospora camelinae (Gäum.) Göker, Voglmayr, Riethm, M. Weiss & Oberw. (Accession AY198249.1) with a 95% query coverage (1). Pathogenicity was established by applying white conidial masses of downy mildew from field samples to stems of 4-week-old plants grown in pots in a greenhouse maintained at 25 ± 2°C. Noninoculated plants maintained under the similar conditions served as control. Symptoms and signs of downy mildew developed after 14 days only on inoculated plants. Downy mildew constitutes a serious threat to the cultivation of C. sativa in Florida because of the humid climate favoring disease development. Diseased plants may reduce yield and disease management would increase production costs. H. camelinae was previously reported on C. sativa in Oregon, Minnesota, Montana (3), and Nebraska (2). To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of downy mildew caused by H. camelinae on C. sativa in Florida. References: (1) M. Göker et al. Canad. J. Bot. 81:672, 2003. (2) R. M. Harveson et al. Plant Health Progress. 2011. doi: 10.1094/PHP-2011-1014-01-BR. (3) M. L. Putnam et al. Plant Health Progress. 2009. doi: 10.1094/PHP-2009-0910-01-BR. (4) T. J. White et al. Page 315 in: PCR Protocols: A Guide to Methods and Applications. M. A. Innis et al., eds. Academic Press, San Diego, 1990.


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