Effect of Mixing and Sieving on Incidence of Gaeumannomyces Graminis Var. Tritici in Field Soil

Abstract

A bioassay was employed to compare the effect of various treatments on the level of G. graminis var. tritici inoculum in soil cores taken from a take-all patch. In a comparison of undisturbed soil and mixed soil, mixing caused a small reduction in incidence, possibly due to a dilution of the inoculum in the surface soil. Graded degrees of sieving from 5 to O· 5 mm mesh size caused a significant reduction in inoculum levels, with the latter reducing incidence to 3 % in seedlings at 4 weeks. However, it was also shown that increasingly finer sieving caused an increase in disease incidence if the seedlings were allowed to grow to maturity. It was not established whether the sieving affected the soil in such a way as to favour the pathogen, lower the resistance of the plant, or both.