ARS | Publication request: IMPACT OF ROOT DISEASES ON THE HEALTH OF WHEAT AND BARLEY GROWN USING DIRECT SEEDING.

Submitted to: Phytopathology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: March 20, 2003
Publication Date: June 20, 2003
Citation: SCHROEDER, K., PAULITZ, T.C. IMPACT OF ROOT DISEASES ON THE HEALTH OF DIRECT-SEEDED WHEAT AND BARLEY. PHYTOPATHOLOGY. 2003. 93:S77 (abstract)

Technical Abstract: Root diseases of dryland wheat and barley are a primary deterrent to the use of direct seeding in eastern Washington. Previous studies on the impact of tillage on root diseases have reported conflicting results. Two field sites with histories of tillage or direct seeding were selected for study. At each location, plots with and without tillage or inoculated with Rhizoctonia solani AG-8 and Gaeumannomyces graminis var. tritici were initiated. With tillage, there were significantly more crown roots and more tillers in 2002 than in direct-seeded plots at the same site. Plant height, seminal root number, Rhizoctonia root rot disease incidence and severity, and population density of Pythium spp. did not differ between tillage types, but take-all was more severe in tilled plots although the disease levels were relatively low. There was no difference in yield between tillage types or locations except for an 18% decrease in direct-seeded spring wheat in the first year. These data suggest that differences may be the result of factors other than tillage such as cooler soils or undetected pathogen influences.