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RESEARCH ARTICLE

The importance of the type and time of inoculation and assessment in the determination of resistance in Brassia napus and B. juncea to Sclerotinia sclerotiorum

C. X. Li A K , Hua Li B , A. B. Siddique A , K. Sivasithamparam B , P. Salisbury C , S. S. Banga D , Shashi Banga D , C. Chattopadhyay E , A. Kumar E , R. Singh F , D. Singh F , A. Agnihotri G , S. Y. Liu H , Y. C. Li H , J. Tu I , T. D. Fu I , Y. F. Wang J and M. J. Barbetti A
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A School of Plant Biology, Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, The University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley, WA 6009, Australia.

B School of Earth and Geographical Sciences, Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, The University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley, WA 6009, Australia.

C School of Agriculture and Food Systems, The University of Melbourne, Victoria 3010, Australia.

D Department of Plant Breeding, Genetics & Biotechnology, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana 141004, India.

E National Research Centre on Rapeseed-Mustard, Sewar, Bharatpur 321303, India.

F Oilseeds Section, C.C.S. Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar 125004, India.

G The Energy and Resources Institute, Lodhi Rd, New Delhi 110003, India.

H Institute of Oil Crops Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Wuhan 430062, P.R. China.

I The National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetics and Improvement, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, P. R. China.

J Institute of Industrial Crops, Urumqi, P. R. China.

K Corresponding author. Email: caixiali@plants.uwa.edu.au

Australian Journal of Agricultural Research 58(12) 1198-1203 https://doi.org/10.1071/AR07094
Submitted: 25 June 2007  Accepted: 3 August 2007   Published: 17 December 2007

Abstract

Sclerotinia stem rot (SSR) is a significant agricultural problem worldwide. Finding sources of resistance is crucial to the ongoing search for better management of this disease. Brassica germplasm from Australia, China and India was screened for resistance to SSR under Western Australian field conditions following stem inoculation, application of a spray of mycelial suspension, or as a consequence of myceliogenic germination originating from sclerotia resident in soil. Significant differences in response were observed among 53 genotypes using each of the three screening methods. There was a variable impact of the time of inoculation on the disease level depending upon time of assessment post-stem inoculation. However, this impact could be reduced to an insignificant level provided the assessment after stem inoculation was delayed until 3 weeks post-inoculation. The results of these studies indicate that the use of appropriate inoculation and assessment methods could significantly reduce variability in the responses commonly observed in screening for resistance in crop plants against Sclerotinia sclerotiorum.


Acknowledgments

Our special thanks to the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research and to the Grains Research and Development Corporation for funding this research.


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