The devastating rice blast disease caused by Magnaporthe grisea has never been eliminated from a region in which the crop is grown. In temperate areas, Italy included, it can cause marginal losses (2012 and 2013) as well as devastating outbreaks (2008). Even if the Oryza sativa - M. grisea pathosystem has become a model for understanding the molecular basis of plant-fungal interactions, practical answers to some key questions regarding it still have not been found. Thanks to two Italian National projects, RISINNOVA and POLORISO, knowledge concerning the pathogen and the prevention of the disease has been improved. A third Project, “Fight to Blast” (2009), by the Vercelli Province, allows the continuous bio-monitoring, from June to August, of an about 110.000 ha production area. This results in a disease-forecast free-service: a real time bulletin based on 4 risk levels, from “0 - no risk of blast” to “3 - high risk” (resistant rice varieties and/or unfavourable to blast field management included). Those projects are focused on: 1) phytosanitary evaluation of both experimental and cultivated plants; 2) collection of the M. grisea Italian population; 3) aerosporological monitoring of M. grisea spores; 4) optimization of a model (SiRBInt - Simulation of Rice-Blast Interaction), created for temperate rice growing areas. Results confirm that M. grisea is a pathogen able to change in relation to geographical, environmental and agronomical factors. The collection of the pathogen could be a reference point for the international scientific community involved in rice plant protection and improvement.
MULTIDISCIPLINARY STUDIES ON THE RICE BLAST PATHOGEN MAGNAPORTHE GRISEA IN ITALY
PICCO, ANNA MARIA;RODOLFI, MARINELLA;GUGLIELMINETTI, MARIA LIDIA
2015-01-01
Abstract
The devastating rice blast disease caused by Magnaporthe grisea has never been eliminated from a region in which the crop is grown. In temperate areas, Italy included, it can cause marginal losses (2012 and 2013) as well as devastating outbreaks (2008). Even if the Oryza sativa - M. grisea pathosystem has become a model for understanding the molecular basis of plant-fungal interactions, practical answers to some key questions regarding it still have not been found. Thanks to two Italian National projects, RISINNOVA and POLORISO, knowledge concerning the pathogen and the prevention of the disease has been improved. A third Project, “Fight to Blast” (2009), by the Vercelli Province, allows the continuous bio-monitoring, from June to August, of an about 110.000 ha production area. This results in a disease-forecast free-service: a real time bulletin based on 4 risk levels, from “0 - no risk of blast” to “3 - high risk” (resistant rice varieties and/or unfavourable to blast field management included). Those projects are focused on: 1) phytosanitary evaluation of both experimental and cultivated plants; 2) collection of the M. grisea Italian population; 3) aerosporological monitoring of M. grisea spores; 4) optimization of a model (SiRBInt - Simulation of Rice-Blast Interaction), created for temperate rice growing areas. Results confirm that M. grisea is a pathogen able to change in relation to geographical, environmental and agronomical factors. The collection of the pathogen could be a reference point for the international scientific community involved in rice plant protection and improvement.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.