Effect of Temperature, Leaf Wetness Period, and Cultivar Susceptibility on Boxwood Blight Disease Development and Sporulation.

Boxwood blight causes great losses to the boxwood nursery industry and landscapes in 30 states in the United States. Understanding the epidemiological factors governing disease development will be important for disease forecasting and design of best management practices. We evaluated the effect of leaf wetness period (lwp) and temperature on lesion development and sporulation on three boxwood cultivars under controlled conditions to develop predictive models for disease development. We conducted detached leaf assays at 18 to 27°C and various lwp with the cultivars Buxus sempervirens 'Suffruticosa' (highly susceptible), B. sempervirens × B. microphylla var. koreana 'Green Velvet' (moderately susceptible), and B. microphylla var. japonica 'Winter Gem' (less susceptible). Detached leaves were inoculated with 200 conidia in 50 µl of suspension and disease incidence was recorded at 3 to 13 days postinoculation (dpi). Cultivar, lwp, temperature, and most interactions significantly influenced disease development. A minimum of 5 h of leaf wetness was required for any disease. Lesion development increased most rapidly between 12 and 15 h and continued to increase to about 21 h of leaf wetness. Temperatures between 21 and 25°C were optimal for lesion development. There was about a 7-day lag between appearance of lesions and maximal incidence of sporulation. The two less-susceptible cultivars had fewer lesions than Suffruticosa under the same infection conditions; in addition, leaf lesions of Winter Gem exhibited delayed sporulation and sporulation from a smaller proportion of symptomatic leaves. Response surfaces were developed for each cultivar to predict the disease incidence using the lwp and dpi. Our findings will help refine disease forecast models to improve management of boxwood blight.

Diversity and Aggressiveness of Rhizoctonia spp. from Nebraska on Soybean and Cross-Pathogenicity to Corn and Wheat.

Rhizoctonia and Rhizoctonia-like species of fungi that cause disease are known to have varying host ranges and aggressiveness. Accurate identification of these species causing disease is important for soybean disease management that relies upon crop rotation. The anamorphic genus Rhizoctonia contains several diverse species and anastomosis groups (AGs) including some known soybean pathogens, such as Rhizoctonia solani, whereas for others the ability to cause disease on soybean has not been well described. The present study was conducted to identify the predominant species and AG of Rhizoctonia from soybean, corn, and wheat fields that are pathogenic on soybean and characterize cross-pathogenicity to common rotational crops, corn and wheat. We surveyed for Rhizoctonia spp. in Nebraska; isolates were identified to species and AG, and aggressiveness was assessed. A total of 59 R. zeae isolates, 49 R. solani, nine binucleate Rhizoctonia, three R. circinata, and two R. oryzae isolates were collected in 2016 and 2017 from a total of 29 fields in 15 counties. The most abundant R. solani AGs were AG-4, AG-1 IB, AG-2-1, AG-3, and AG-5. R. solani AG-4 and R. zeae were found in all three regions of the state (west, central, and eastern). Some isolates that were most aggressive to soybean seedlings were cross-pathogenic on both wheat and corn. In addition, R. zeae was pathogenic on soybean when evaluated at 25°C, which is warmer than temperatures used previously, and isolates were identified that were aggressive on soybean and cross-pathogenic on both corn and wheat.

Origin of agricultural plant pathogens: Diversity and pathogenicity of Rhizoctonia fungi associated with native prairie grasses in the Sandhills of Nebraska.

The Sandhills of Nebraska is a complex ecosystem, covering 50,000 km2 in central and western Nebraska and predominantly of virgin grassland. Grasslands are the most widespread vegetation in the U.S. and once dominated regions are currently cultivated croplands, so it stands to reason that some of the current plant pathogens of cultivated crops originated from grasslands, particularly soilborne plant pathogens. The anamorphic genus Rhizoctonia includes genetically diverse organisms that are known to be necrotrophic fungal pathogens, saprophytes, mycorrhiza of orchids, and biocontrol agents. This study aimed to evaluate the diversity of Rhizoctonia spp. on four native grasses in the Sandhills of Nebraska and determine pathogenicity to native grasses and soybean. In 2016 and 2017, a total of 84 samples were collected from 11 sites in the Sandhills, located in eight counties of Nebraska. The samples included soil and symptomatic roots from the four dominant native grasses: sand bluestem, little bluestem, prairie sandreed, and needle-and-thread. Obtained were 17 Rhizoctonia-like isolates identified, including five isolates of binucleate Rhizoctonia AG-F; two isolates each from binucleate Rhizoctonia AG-B, AG-C, and AG-K, Rhizoctonia solani AGs: AG-3, and AG-4; one isolate of binucleate Rhizoctonia AG-L, and one isolate of R. zeae. Disease severity was assessed for representative isolates of each AG in a greenhouse assay using sand bluestem, needle-and-thread, and soybean; prairie sandreed and little bluestem were unable to germinate under artificial conditions. On native grasses, all but two isolates were either mildly aggressive (causing 5-21% disease severity) or aggressive (21-35% disease severity). Among those, three isolates were cross-pathogenic on soybean, with R. solani AG-4 shown to be highly aggressive (86% disease severity). Thus, it is presumed that Rhizoctonia spp. are native to the sandhills grasslands and an emerging pathogen of crops cultivated may have survived in the soil and originate from grasslands.