Influence of weight of seed on hyphal growth of the take-all pathogen, Gaeumannomyces graminis var. tritici, in wheat roots grown in sand culture

Abstract

This study examined extent of hyphal growth of Gaeumannomyces graminis var. tritici (Ggt) in seminal roots of wheat seedlings grown from seed of varying weight (12-60 mg). Hyphal invasion, measured microscopically in the inner cortex, endodermis and stele of root sections and in the early formation of stelar lesions, was found to be influenced in a complex manner by weight of seed. As weight of seed was increased, invasion of the inner cortex decreased linearly while invasion of stelar tissue varied in a non linear manner. These findings show that weight of seed must be considered when comparing levels of infection in seedlings of different cultivars of wheat.