Infection of resistant and susceptible cultivars of wheat by Pyrenophora tritici‐repentis

Abstract

Conidial germination, appressorial formation. penetration of epidermal walls, formation of intracellular vesicles and growth of intracellular hyphae in epidermal cells occurred within 12 h of inoculation. Hyphae then grew slowly between mesophyll cells for the next 12 h. Some papillae formed beneath appressoria and most infected epidermal cells retained stain by 24 h after inoculation, indicating major changes in cellular physiology. Slight differences between cultivars in some of these events were not related to resistance.On the second day. intercellular hyphae emerged more extensively from the infection sites into the mesophyll of the susceptible cultivar Banks, and formed significantly larger mycelia than in the resistant cultivar BH1146 by 3‐5 days from inoculation. Rapid intercellular growth then continued in the susceptible cultivar but not in the resistant cultivar. Necrotic lesions expanded faster in the susceptible cultivar from day 3. By day 10. most lesions in this cultivar were large and light brown with a conspicuous chlorotic margin but those in the resistant cultivar were small and dark brown with inconspicuous chlorosis.