Assessing seed to seedling transmission of Xanthomonas translucens causing BLS of cereals to establish inoculum thresholds
Crop Types
- Wheat
Collaborating Locations
University of SaskatchewanRecently, an emerging disease of cereals caused by pathogenic Xanthomonas translucens (Xt) known as bacterial leaf streak (BLS) has been reported in many fields in western Canada heightening concern among cereal growers. Large-scale transmission of the organism is ascribed to its seed-borne nature. Currently, no effective chemical in-crop management strategies are available. Preliminary results obtained this year from BLS field nurseries established in Canada in one on-going project indicates that most Canadian commercially available wheat and barley cultivars are susceptible to the disease; hence, the risk of infection might escalate in Canada in the next decades.
Objectives
- Determine seed to seedling transmission rate of Xt under field conditions to establish risk threshold levels.
- Effect of temperature and seed treatments on multiplication of Xt and symptom expression in seed with varying infection levels.