Editorial: Advances in Ascochyta Research, Volume II

Authors: DAVIDSON, JENNIFER - South Australian Research And Development Institute; Chen, Weidong; RUBIALES, DIEGO - Institute For Sustainable Agriculture; LI, YONGLE - Australian Grains Genebank

Submitted to: Frontiers in Plant Science
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 9/23/2023
Publication Date: 9/24/2023
Citation: Davidson, J., Chen, W., Rubiales, D., Li, Y. 2023. Editorial: Advances in Ascochyta Research, Volume II. Frontiers in Plant Science. 14:2023. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2023.1290189.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2023.1290189

Interpretive Summary: This research topic is the second of the Advances in Ascochyta Research series. Legume crops provide an excellent source of high quality plant protein and have a key role in arable crop rotations reducing the need for fertilizer application and acting as break-crops. However, these crops are affected by a number of foliar and root diseases, with ascochyta blights being among the most important group of diseases worldwide. Ascochyta blights are incited by different pathogens in the various legumes. A number of control strategies have been developed including resistance breeding, cultural practices and chemical control. However, only marginal successes have been achieved in most instances, with most control methods being uneconomical, hard to achieve or resulting in incomplete protection. There is a need for co-operative research on these diseases, from agronomy to breeding, covering traditional and modern genomic methodologies. This volume includes seven research articles dealing with pathogen mating types, host resistance using molecular markers and multi-environment screening, and emergence of fungicide resistance in the pathogens. These articles present our recent progress on these important diseases.

Technical Abstract: Ascochyta blights caused by various mostly host-specific pathogens are the most important foliar diseases of cool season grain legumes such as chickpea, faba bean, lentil and pea, and are difficult to manage. Yet our current understanding of these diseases is limited and insufficient for most effective management of these diseases. This topic volume includes seven research articles dealing a wide range of subjects concerning Ascochyta blights. Subjects include pathogen biology such as mating type distribution, genetics of host plant resistance using molecular markers and genome-wide association studies, resistance breeding under multi-environmental screening, and emergence of fungicide resistance among pathogen populations. The results presented in this volume will enhance our understanding the pathogens and facilitate resistance breeding and improve management practices to mitigate disease loses caused by Ascochyta blights.