Evidence that wheat cultivars differ in their ability to build up inoculum of the take-all fungus, Gaeumannomyces graminis var. tritici, under a first wheat crop

摘要

The effect of wheat cultivar on the build-up of take-all inoculum during a first wheat crop was measured after harvest using a soil core bioassay in field experiments over five growing seasons (2003-2008). Cultivar differences in individual years were explored by analysis of variance and a cross-season Residual Maximum Likelihood (REML) variance components analysis was used to compare differences in those cultivars present in all years. Differences between cultivars in the build-up of inoculum were close to or at significance in two of the five trial years (2004 P < 0·05; 2006 P < 0·07), and current commercially listed cultivars were represented at both extremes of the range. In 2007 and 2008, when environmental conditions were most favourable for inoculum build-up, differences were not significant (P < 0·3). In 2005 the presence of Phiolophora spp. at the trial site restricted the build-up of take-all inoculum under all cultivars. The cross season REML variance components analysis detected significant differences (range: 3·4-47·8% roots infected in the soil core bioassay; P < 0·01) between the nine cultivars present in all years (excluding 2005). This is the first evidence of relatively consistent differences between hexaploid wheat cultivars in their interactions with the take-all fungus, and this could give an indication of those cultivars that could be grown as a first wheat crop, in order to reduce the risk of damaging take-all in a second wheat crop. This phenomenon has been named the take-all inoculum build-up (TAB) trait.