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Field testing putative biological controls of take‐all: rationale and results 1
Author(s) -
HORNBY D.
Publication year - 1987
Publication title -
eppo bulletin
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.327
H-Index - 36
eISSN - 1365-2338
pISSN - 0250-8052
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2338.1987.tb00082.x
Subject(s) - take all , biological pest control , biology , agronomy , field (mathematics) , fungus , microbiology and biotechnology , horticulture , botany , mathematics , pure mathematics
In seeking biological control of the wheat take‐all fungus ( Gaeumannomyces graminis var. tritici ) by introduced organisms, the demonstration of satisfactory field performance is proving a formidable hurdle. A novel experimental design incorporating small plots, 37 x 31 cm, has been used in UK at Rothamsted and Woburn since 1983 to test different kinds of control for take‐all and to explore some of the problems of providing adequate field tests of putative biocontrol agents. Three years of bacterial treatments, using different plots each year, provided no evidence of effective control of the disease. Of the few significant treatment effects, most occurred in spring and were temporary: at Woburn they were mostly decreases in take‐all and at Rothamsted mostly decreases in growth of the wheat plant without concomitant changes in take‐all.