Screening Sunflowers for Head Rot Resistance
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current cycle of high rainfall has resulted in severe outbreaks of sclerotinia
head rot (white mold) in many sunflower production areas.
This disease not only reduces yield, but also produces overwintering
bodies (sclerotia), which contaminate grain or remain in the field to serve as
disease inoculum for subsequent crops in the rotation.
Virtually all broadleaf crops in the Northern Plains are susceptible to
sclerotinia.
With
grant funding from the National Sunflower Association and the State Board of
Agricultural Research and Education and fees assessed for evaluating commercial
hybrids, a long-term head rot screening nursery was established at the NDSU
Carrington Research Extension Center in 2000.
The nursery consisted of three areas:
1) 82 commercial hybrids (three replicates of each hybrid), 2) 216
germplasm entries from the USDA-ARS Sunflower Research Unit in Fargo, and 3) an
area for refining the methodology of conducting a head rot screening nursery.
To insure favorable conditions for disease development, individual plants
(10/plot) were artificially inoculated and a misting system was designed and
constructed to maintain a humid environment.
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