Effect of Fungicide and Timing of Application on Management of Sunflower Rust.

Sunflower rust is an important yield-limiting disease in sunflower production in the Great Plains of the United States. Rust severity and incidence have increased between 2002 and 2011, and genetic resistance is limited in most commercial hybrids, particularly the high-value confectionary market type. Although fungicides are available for rust management in the United States, management recommendations are insufficient. Specifically, efficacy and timing data are very limited for fungicides in FRAC groups 7 and 11. Seventeen fungicide efficacy and timing trials were conducted between 2008 and 2011 in North Dakota. Timings evaluated across the four years included single or multiple applications at growth stages (GS): GS V8-V12 (late vegetative), GS R1 (terminal bud formation), GS R3-4 (elongation of bud), GS R5 (flowering), and GS R6 (completion of flowering). With few exceptions, fungicide applications of DMIs and QoIs controlled disease greater than SDHI fungicides. Fungicide applications made at R5, either singly or in combination, consistently resulted in greater disease control. A negative correlation (r = -0.7756) between disease control and yield was observed, resulting in a yield reduction of 6.6% for every 1% increase in disease severity.

Identification and molecular mapping of two QTLs with major effects for resistance to Fusarium head blight in wheat.

Fusarium head blight (FHB) is a devastating disease of wheat worldwide. Novel sources of resistance are critical for improving FHB resistance levels in wheat. From a large-scale evaluation of germplasm for reactions to FHB, we identified one wheat accession (PI 277012) that consistently showed a high level of resistance in both greenhouse and field experiments. To characterize the FHB resistance in this accession, we developed a doubled haploid (DH) mapping population consisting of 130 lines from the cross between PI 277012 and the hard red spring wheat cultivar 'Grandin'. The DH population was then evaluated for reactions to FHB in three greenhouse seasons and five field environments. Based on a linkage map that consisted of 340 SSR markers spanning 2,703 cM of genetic distance, two major quantitative trait loci (QTLs) for FHB resistance were identified on chromosome arms 5AS and 5AL, with each explaining up to 20 and 32% of the variation in FHB severity, respectively. The two QTLs also showed major effects on reducing the percentage of Fusarium damaged kernels (FDK) and deoxynivalenol (DON) accumulation in seeds. FHB resistance has not previously been reported to be associated with this particular genomic region of chromosome arm 5AL, thus indicating the novelty of FHB resistance in PI 277012. Plant maturity was not associated with FHB resistance and the effects of plant height on FHB resistance were minor. Therefore, these results suggest that PI 277012 is an excellent source for improving FHB resistance in wheat. The markers identified in this research are being used for marker-assisted introgression of the QTLs into adapted durum and hard red spring wheat cultivars.