The Ascomycetes Pyricularia oryzae Cavara, anamorph of Magnaporthe oryzae B. Couch sp. nov., is the causal organism of rice blast disease, the most serious fungal disease of rice with a worldwide distribution (present in 85 countries, Italy included). It can be very destructive when environmental conditions are favourable; its occurrence and severity vary by year, location and even within a field depending on environmental conditions and crop management practices. Moreover, the pathogen is highly variable and new races can appear and attack resistant varieties breaking down the efforts to introduce resistance genes in rice. In Europe, five lineages of the pathogen have been described and in Italy we detected two additional haplotypes. Chemicals and management practices are the only means of blast control and no strategies in current use are based on the dynamics of airborne conidia, the most important means of dissemination of the pathogen. In the present report, we give a snapshot of our current studies aimed at investigating the genetic diversity of a large collection of Italian Magnaporthe strains and at assessing the putative correlation between the airborne conidia dispersion and the risk of disease spreading in the fields to find new strategies in blast control.
Monitoring Magnaporthe oryzae (anamorph: Pyricularia oryzae) population and dispersion in Italy
PICCO, ANNA MARIA;RODOLFI, MARINELLA;
2012-01-01
Abstract
The Ascomycetes Pyricularia oryzae Cavara, anamorph of Magnaporthe oryzae B. Couch sp. nov., is the causal organism of rice blast disease, the most serious fungal disease of rice with a worldwide distribution (present in 85 countries, Italy included). It can be very destructive when environmental conditions are favourable; its occurrence and severity vary by year, location and even within a field depending on environmental conditions and crop management practices. Moreover, the pathogen is highly variable and new races can appear and attack resistant varieties breaking down the efforts to introduce resistance genes in rice. In Europe, five lineages of the pathogen have been described and in Italy we detected two additional haplotypes. Chemicals and management practices are the only means of blast control and no strategies in current use are based on the dynamics of airborne conidia, the most important means of dissemination of the pathogen. In the present report, we give a snapshot of our current studies aimed at investigating the genetic diversity of a large collection of Italian Magnaporthe strains and at assessing the putative correlation between the airborne conidia dispersion and the risk of disease spreading in the fields to find new strategies in blast control.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
