Plant Protection Science, 2012 (vol. 48), issue 1

Bean polygalacturonase-inhibiting protein expressed in transgenic Brassica napus inhibits polygalacturonase from its fungal pathogen Rhizoctonia solani

Amir Behzad AKHGARI, Mostafa MOTALLEBI, Mohammad Reza ZAMANI

Plant Protect. Sci., 2012, 48(1):1-9 | DOI: 10.17221/46/2009-PPS  

Polygalacturonase-inhibiting proteins (PGIPs) selectively inhibit polygalacturonases (PGs) secreted by invading plant pathogenic fungi. The objective of present research was to clone and introduce the pgip2 gene from bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) cv. Goli, with antifungal potential, into the commercially important canola (Brassica napus, R line Hyola 308) via Agrobacterium tumefaciens mediated transformation. Here we used a transgenic overexpression approach in order to investigate the inhibitory activity of the PGIP on the PG from Rhizoctonia solani, the causal agent of damping off and root...

Effect of some factors on the incidence of choke (Epichloë typhina) in grass seed stands in the Czech Republic

Bohumír Cagaš, Radek Macháč

Plant Protect. Sci., 2012, 48(1):10-16 | DOI: 10.17221/44/2011-PPS  

Choke of grasses caused by Epichloë typhina occurred in 2008 and 2009 in more than 25% of grass seed stands of timothy (Phleum pratense and P. nodosum); a lower incidence was reported in orchard grass (Dactylis glomerata). A decline in disease incidence in 2010 was caused partly by a reduction in the total area of grasses grown for seed production and partly by a decrease of older grass seed stands. The incidence of choke in timothy varieties Odenwälder and Pampas was very high; they differed statistically from the other 24 grown cultivars. No difference was found among 21 varieties of orchard grass. The highest...

Frequency of powdery mildew resistances in spring barley cultivars in Czech variety trials

Antonín DREISEITL

Plant Protect. Sci., 2012, 48(1):17-20 | DOI: 10.17221/11/2011-PPS  

In 2006-2010, resistance to the powdery mildew pathogen was studied in 277 spring barley cultivars. They were represented by 54 cultivars in Czech official variety trials, of which 42 were foreign, and 223 cultivars in variety trials conducted by domestic breeding companies in that period. Sixty-eight domestic cultivars (28.8%) exhibited heterogeneity in the examined trait, i.e. they were composed of lines with different resistances to powdery mildew. Thirteen known resistances were identified (Ab, Ar, HH, La, Ly, Mlo, Ri, Ro, Ru, Sp, St, Tu2 and We). The most frequent resistance was Mlo detected in 160 homogeneous cultivars (= 76.6%). The newly described...

Indirect effect of fungicide treatments on chasmothecia of Erysiphe necator Schwein overwintering on grapevine bark

Péter Hoffmann, István Füzi, Ferenc Virányi

Plant Protect. Sci., 2012, 48(1):21-30 | DOI: 10.17221/66/2010-PPS  

Erysiphe necator Schwein overwinters in Hungary primarily as large numbers of chasmothecia providing primary inoculum for grapevine (Vitis vinifera L.) infection in the next year. In two field trials, the effect of fungicide treatments on powdery mildew severity and the number of chasmothecia produced on leaves and washed to the bark were studied. In 2005, the number of chasmothecia harvested from the bark showed a limited correlation with disease severity (r = 0.553) and number of chasmothecia on leaves (r = 0.600). In 2006, using a refined sieving technique, a substantial increase in the number of harvested chasmothecia...

Arbuscular mycorrhizal technology for the growth enhancement of micropropagated Spilanthes acmella Murr

Kuldeep YADAV, Narender SINGH, Ashok AGGARWAL

Plant Protect. Sci., 2012, 48(1):31-36 | DOI: 10.17221/21/2011-PPS  

Spilanthes acmella (Asteraceae) is an endangered ornamental cum medicinal annual herb. This study reports on the effect of two arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (Glomus mosseae and Acaulospora laevis) applied either alone or in combination on post-transplanting performance of micropropagated S. acmella. Complete plantlets of S. acmella were raised by direct organogenesis from nodal explants on Murashige and Skoog medium supplemented with various cytokinins. S. acmella plantlets responded to all three mycorrhizal treatments in a significantly different way. G. mosseae enhanced the survival rate...

Influence of pesticide-treated seeds on survival of Mesorhizobium sp. Cicer, symbiotic efficiency and yield in chickpea

Kunal, Poonam Sharma

Plant Protect. Sci., 2012, 48(1):37-43 | DOI: 10.17221/54/2010-PPS  

Chemical seed protectants are used to reduce the adverse effects of seedling fungal pathogens or insect attack on legume pastures and crops. Chickpea seeds are also frequently treated with Mesorhizobium sp. Cicer inoculant to promote effective symbiotic nitrogen fixation (SNF), which seems to be a cost effective measure. The population of viable Mesorhizobium sp. Cicer on seeds of chickpea declined with time of storage (4°C) in pesticide treated and untreated chickpea seeds in vitro. A significant reduction in chickpea rhizobia was observed in seed treatment with Captan followed by Endosulfan and Chlorpyrifos....

Susceptibility of the early growth stages of volunteer oilseed rape to invertebrate predation

Stanislava Koprdová, Pavel Saska, Alois Honěk, Zdenka Martinková

Plant Protect. Sci., 2012, 48(1):44-50 | DOI: 10.17221/22/2011-PPS  

Chemical and agronomical control of volunteer plants is difficult, especially in reduced-input cropping systems where feeding by natural herbivores may become an important cause of their mortality. The consumption of the early growth stages of winter oilseed rape (Brassica napus L. ssp. napus) by five species of ground-surface invertebrates abundant in rape fields of Central Europe was studied under laboratory conditions. The species were particular in their preferences for growth stages of oilseed rape. The gastropods Arion lusitanicus and Helix pomatia preferred seedlings rather than seeds, whereas all three species...

Assoc. Prof. Ing. Jaroslav Polák, DrSc. - septuagenarian

J.K. Kundu, J. Chod

Plant Protect. Sci., 2012, 48(1):51-52 | DOI: 10.17221/9/2012-PPS