Evaluation of Wheat Resistance to Snow Mold Caused by Microdochium nivale (Fr) Samuels and I.C. Hallett under Abiotic Stress Influence in the Central Non-Black Earth Region of Russia.

Sulukhan K Temirbekova,Lev G Tyryshkin,Elena S Potapova,Alexey P Glinushkin,Yuliya V Afanasyeva,Nazih Y Rebouh,Mukhtar Z Ashirbekov,Rima N Kirakosyan,Olga O Beloshapkina,Ivan M Kulikov,Evgeniy V Zuev

doi:10.3390/plants11050699

Abstract

Microdochium nivale is one of the most harmful fungal diseases, causing colossal yield losses and deteriorating grain quality. Wheat genotypes from the world collection of the N.I. Vavilov Institute (VIR) were evaluated for fifty years to investigate their resistance to biotic stress factors (M. nivale). Between 350 to 1085 of winter wheat genotypes were investigated annually. Ten out of fifty years were identified as rot epiphytotics (1978, 1986, 1989, 1990, 1993, 1998, 2001, 2003, 2005 and 2021). The wheat collection was investigated by following the VIR methodological requirements and CMEA unified classification of Triticum aestivum L. The field investigations were carried out in the early spring during fixed-route observations and data collection was included on the spread and development degree of the disease, followed by microbiological and microscopic pathogen identifications. The observations revealed that the primary reason for pink snow mold to infect the wheat crops was abiotic stress factors, such as thawed soil covered in snow that increased the soil temperature by 1.0–4.6 °C above normal. Under these conditions, the plants kept growing, quickly exhausting their carbohydrate and protein resources, thus weakening their immune systems, which made them an easy target for different infections, mainly cryophilic fungi, predominantly Microdochium nivale in the Moscow region. In some years, the joint effect of abiotic and biotic stresses caused crop failure, warranting the replanting of the spring wheat. The investigated wheat genotypes exhibited variable resistance to pink snow mold. The genotypes Mironovskaya 808 (k-43920) from Ukraine;l Nemchinovskaya 846 (k-56861), from Russia; Novobanatka (k-51761) from Yugoslavia; Liwilla (k-57580) from Poland; Zdar (UH 7050) from the Czech Republic; Maris Plowman (k-57944) from the United Kingdom; Pokal (k-56827) from Austria; Hvede Sarah (k-56289) from Denmark; Moldova 83 (k-59750) from Romania; Compal (k-57585) from Germany; Linna (k-45889) from Finland and Kehra (k-34228) from Estonia determined the sources, stability and tolerance to be used in advanced breeding programs.

Highlights

Winter crop rot is a complex process that is observed in plants spending a long time at a temperature close to 0 ◦ C in relatively warm soil, without sunlight and under a thick snow cover [1,2]
The purposes of this study is to investigate the gene pool of winter wheat genotypes from the world collection of and identify the sources of of winter wheat genotypes from the world collection of VIR and identify the sources of resistanceto toM
We consider that the snow mold is a complex pathological process, initially launched by abiotic stress, followed by cryophilic fungal infection starting with sub-saprotrophic feeding on the weakened plants

Summary

Introduction

Winter crop rot is a complex process that is observed in plants spending a long time at a temperature close to 0 ◦ C in relatively warm soil, without sunlight and under a thick snow cover [1,2]. Under such conditions, the plants quickly burn the nutrients accumulated in their leaves and tillering nodes, weakening their nonspecific resistance, and become an easy target for fungal infection, most commonly snow mold and sclerotinia [3]. Snow mold, caused by Microdochium nivale (Fr) Samuels and I.C. Hallett, Microdochium majus (Wollenw.) Glynn and S.G. Edwards, Typhula idahoensis, T. ishikariensis, T. incarnata, Myriosclerotinia borealis, Pythium iwayami and P. okanoganense, is a devastating disease affecting a broad range of small grain cereals [5,6].

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