Common root rot in Triticum aestivum cultivar Manitou caused primarily by Cochliobolus sativus was followed during plant development in 1969, 1970, and 1971 at Matador, Saskatchewan. Plants were sampled at intervals, and three variables based mainly on the occurrence of lesions on subcrown internodes were studied: number of diseased plants per square meter; percentage of diseased plants; and disease rating which integrated percentage of diseased plants and disease severity on each plant. All variables increased with time, and the progression curves in all 3 years were hyperbolic, indicating that the increases were like those of a simple interest disease as described by Van der Plank. In two of the years, almost 100% of the plants were diseased considerably before the end of the season. The transformation proposed by Van der Plank for simple interest diseases, log10[1/(1 − x)], was applied to the percentages of diseased plants, and regressions were calculated. The slopes of these lines (infection rates) were as follows: 1969, 0.99% plants per day; 1970, 1.32%; and 1971, 1.96%. In 1969 the onset of disease was later than in 1970 and 1971, and there was correspondingly less disease at the end of the growing season.
Lack of Relationship Between Susceptibility to Common Root Rot and Drought Tolerance Among Several Closely Related Wheat Lines