Open AccessRelationships Between Yield and Crown Disease of Sweet Corn Grown in the Willamette Valley of Oregon
Author(s) -
Nathan L. Miller,
Cynthia M. Ocamb
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
plant health progress
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.565
H-Index - 9
ISSN - 1535-1025
DOI - 10.1094/php-2009-0831-01-rs
Subject(s) - stalk , biology , crown (dentistry) , radicle , plant stem , horticulture , fusarium oxysporum , yield (engineering) , botany , agronomy , veterinary medicine , germination , medicine , materials science , dentistry , metallurgy
Sweet corn (Zea mays L.) yields in the Willamette Valley of Oregon declined during the 1990s. Severe root rot affected some plants shortly before harvest, but was absent in other plants that showed secondary symptoms of reduced ear yield and leaf death; necrosis of stalk nodes and crown tissues was found instead. Studies were done to determine if there is a relationship among yield and necrosis of crowns, stalk nodes, nodal roots, radicles, or sub-crown internodes. An image analysis program was used to quantify the grayscale value of crown and node tissues. Regression analysis indicates that plants with darker crown tissues have lower ear weights. Rots of the nodal roots, radicle, or sub-crown internode were poor predictors of ear weight at harvest. When either Fusarium oxysporum or F. verticillioides were isolated from crowns of commercial sweet corn plants, these crowns had significantly darker grayscale values than those from which neither species was isolated; ear weights were also lower when F. oxysporum was isolated from the crown or a stalk node. Accepted for publication 13 July 2009. Published 31 August 2009.