Resistance of standing milkvetch (Astragalus adsurgens) varieties to Embellisia astragali

Abstract

Yellow stunt and root rot caused by Embellisia astragali are major factors contributing to declining yields of standing milkvetch (Astragalus adsurgens). The resistance of ten varieties of standing milkvetch to E. astragali was evaluated under laboratory, greenhouse, and field conditions. Seed germination/emergence, shoot and root length, plant dry weight, disease incidence, mortality, and disease severity index were monitored. The results show that Shanxi and Zhongsha No. 1 varieties had the best agronomic traits and lowest levels of disease in all experiments, while the varieties Neimeng and Ningxia had the highest susceptibility to disease. Germination/emergence differed significantly (P < 0.05) between varieties after inoculation, and compared with the control, germination/emergence of inoculated treatments of nine varieties decreased on average by 1.5% in laboratory experiments and by 4.1% in greenhouse experiments at 15 days after inoculation. Inoculation reduced shoot length by an average of 24.4% and 41.5% (P < 0.05) in laboratory and greenhouse experiments, respectively, in six of ten varieties. All varieties showed significantly (P < 0.05) lower plant dry weight following inoculation, with reductions ranging from 0.3 to 0.6 mg in the laboratory and from 82.6 to 149.4 mg in the greenhouse. Resistance to the pathogen was evaluated on the basis of disease incidence, a disease severity index (DSI), and mortality; varieties showing different resistance were grouped using cluster analysis. There were significant correlations between the results of laboratory and greenhouse experiments (r = 0.79; P < 0.01) and between greenhouse and field experiments (r = 0.83; P < 0.01) across all varieties. Multiple regression analysis between laboratory/greenhouse and field experiments on DSI suggested that screening in the laboratory/greenhouse could be an alternative method of rapidly estimating DSI under field conditions.