engleski

Evaluation of inoculation techniques for testing maize hybrids for resistance to stalk anthracnose

Breeding for tolerance to biotic stresses is a good solution for lowering inputs of chemicals for protection of maize crop against pests and diseases, which could reduce production costs as well as the environmental pollution. Anthracnose stalk rot (ASR), caused by Colletotrichum graminicola (Ces.) Wils (C. graminicola), is a disease with worldwide importance. C. graminicola is the only common stalk rot pathogen that also causes leaf blight. The objectives of the present study were i) to compare the efficiency of stalk inoculation with pure culture of C. graminicola and a mixture of isolates of C. graminicola and several species from the genus Fusarium (F.) and ii) to check the possibility of stalk infection via artificial infection of leaves with C. graminicola. A field experiment including 24 maize hybrids, six from each of the four maturity groups (FAO 300, 400, 500 and 600) was sown on the experimental field of the Bc Institute at Rugvica in 2005 and 2006. Inoculation treatments included 1) I0 = natural infection, 2) I1 = inoculation of stalk with C. graminicola 2 x 106 spores/ml, and 3) I2 = inoculation of stalk with a mixture of isolates of C. graminicola (2 x 106 spores /ml), F. graminearum (5 x 104 spores/ml), F. moniliforme (1 x 106 spores/ml), and F. subglutinans (1 x 106 spores/ml), and 4) I3 = infection of leaves with C. graminicola (2 x 106 spores/ml). In testing maize hybrids for resistance under artificial stalk inoculation, application of a mixture of C. graminicola isolates and the fungus of the genus Fusarium did not have any appreciable advantage over the stalk inoculation with pure C. graminicola isolates. The results from this study support the application of artificial leaf inoculation for testing maize hybrids for resistance to anthracnose. Testing maize hybrids for resistance to anthracnose on infected soil might be an alternative to artificial infection.

maize; hybrids; anthracnose stalk rot; inoculation treatments

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