Abstract
In Australia, crown rot of cereals is predominantly caused by Fusarium pseudograminearum and Fusarium culmorum, and common root rot by Bipolaris sorokiniana. Fusarium graminearum is an important pathogen causing Fusarium head blight worldwide and has also been reported to cause crown rot of wheat. The comparative ability of F. pseudograminearum, F. culmorum, F. graminearum and B. sorokiniana to cause crown rot and common root rot across a range of winter cereal species requires investigation. In glasshouse trials, we inoculated one cultivar each of barley, bread wheat, durum wheat, oat and triticale with two strains of each of the four pathogens. At 21 days after inoculation, the sub-crown internode and leaf sheaths of each plant were visually rated for brown discoloration. Shoot length and dry weight of inoculated plants were compared with those of non-inoculated controls. Barley and bread wheat had the highest disease severity ratings on leaf sheaths and sub-crown internode (64.7–99.6%), whereas oat had the lowest disease severity ratings across all pathogens (<5%). The shoot length of all cultivars was significantly reduced (by 12.2–55%, P < 0.05) when exposed to F. pseudograminearum. This study provides a comparison of pathogenicity of crown rot and common root rot pathogens and demonstrates significant variation in visual discoloration and host response across a range of winter cereals.
Highlights
Crown rot and common root rot of cereals are of key economic significance worldwide (Kumar et al 2002; Kazan and Gardiner 2018)
Other Fusarium species associated with winter cereals include F. avenaceum, F. crookwellense and F. poae; these fungi are infrequently isolated from crown rot diseased tissue (Backhouse et al 2004; Obanor and Chakraborty 2014)
The present study aimed to examine the visual discoloration caused by four crown rot and common root rot pathogens (F. pseudograminearum, F. culmorum, F. graminearum and B. sorokiniana) on leaf sheaths and sub-crown internodes of single, commercially important cultivars of barley, bread wheat, durum wheat, oat and triticale
Summary
Crown rot and common root rot of cereals are of key economic significance worldwide (Kumar et al 2002; Kazan and Gardiner 2018). Fusarium pseudograminearum is the predominant fungus associated with crown rot of cereals in Australia (Burgess et al 1975; Backhouse et al 2004), whereas Bipolaris sorokiniana causes seedling blight and the disease common root rot (Wildermuth 1986). Bipolaris sorokiniana and Fusarium species such as F. pseudograminearum, F. culmorum and F. graminearum have been reported to occur together in the same paddocks (Smiley et al 2005; Moya-Elizondo et al 2011)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
