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ARS Home » Midwest Area » Columbia, Missouri » Plant Genetics Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #86707
Title: EVALUATING BIRDSFOOT TREFOIL FOR SUSCEPTIBILITY TO FOLIAR BLIGHT CAUSED BY RHIZOCTONIA SPP.

Author
item ENGLISH, JAMES - UNIV OF MISSOURI
item Beuselinck, Paul

Submitted to: Crop Science
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/1/2000
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary: Birdsfoot trefoil (Lotus corniculatus L.) is a plant that is grown as a high-quality feed for livestock. Plant breeders are trying to improve this crop by breeding for better resistance to disease. The purpose of our research was to test methods to determine the resistance of 17 breeding lines to Rhizoctonia. Rhizoctonia is a fungus disease that can cause injury to leaves and stem and death of seedlings. When growing conditions are warm and humid, Rhizoctonia causes wounds on stems and leaves called lesions. These conditions were created in a greenhouse where 17 experimental breeding lines of birdsfoot trefoil were grown. To test their disease resistance the leaves and stems of each plant was inoculated with the fungus. The development of lesions was watched closely and measurements were made on how quickly and how large the lesion developed. Resistant plants could be used to help develop new Rhizoctonia resistant cultivars. Although no completely resistant plants were found, some lines were more resistant to Rhizoctonia than others. Based on this research, the size and length of lesions found on the tips of stems was determined to be the test for resistance to Rhizoctonia, imformation which will be of importance in breeding for disease resistance.

Technical Abstract: Production of birdsfoot trefoil is limited in humid, temperate regions by foliar and shoot blight caused by Rhizoctonia species. The objective of this research was to evaluate the variability of blight development among 17 entries (14 plant introductions and 3 cultivars) of birdsfoot trefoil. Susceptibility of entries was evaluated relative to three disease symptoms. Based on these symptoms, no entry was completely resistant to infection. The greatest variability in disease development among entries was observed for shoot lesion development. By four days after inoculation, shoot lesion length differed significantly among entries. Lesion lengths differed between trials in relation to variable environmental conditions, but there was a consistency in relative shoot lesion length exhibited by the most resistant entries. In contrast to shoot lesion length, foliar blight and length of time to blight apical meristems varied little or not at all among entries. Shoot lesion development limits foliage production and survival under field conditions and should be considered as a factor of importance in breeding for disease resistance.