Susceptibility to ergot in Zimbabwe of sorghums tbat remained uninfected in their native climates in Ethiopia and Rwanda

Frederickson, D E and Mantle, P G and Milliano, W A J De (1994) Susceptibility to ergot in Zimbabwe of sorghums tbat remained uninfected in their native climates in Ethiopia and Rwanda. Plant Pathology, 43 (1). pp. 27-32.

[img] PDF
Restricted to ICRISAT users only

Download (429kB) | Request a copy

Abstract

Forty-four local Ethiopian and Rwandan sorghums (Sorghum bicolor) were observed to remain free of ergot, or had only low incidence, in their natural equatorial latitudes and were potentially of interest, in the design of male-sterile lines for F| hybrid breeding, if they possessed a physiologically based resistance mechanism. These sorghums were therefore also investigated under natural and artificial disease pressures in Zimbabwe where unadapted development and inappropriate long daylengtb prevented flowering in 18 accessions. Of the remaining 16 Ethiopian and 10 Rwandan accessions which flowered, only one from each country remained free of ergot. The susceptibility expressed was ascribed to observed asynchrony of stigma exsertion with anthesis. In the Rwandan accession that persistently remained free of ergot in Zimbabwe, histology of ovules showed pollination before floret gaping, so that a general principle of disease escape due to efficient pollination is proposed for the Ethiopian and Rwandan sorghums in their native climates. The findings emphasize that cleistogamy is a desirable character for avoiding ergot infection in self-fertile sorghums and suggest that the Ethiopian and Rwandan sorghutns may not generally be useful for breeding ergot-resistant male-sterile female lines. However, a few accessions deserve more detailed study as a potential genetic resource, before a firm conclusion that all apparent resistance is disease escape owing to efficient pollination.

Item Type: Article
Divisions: UNSPECIFIED
CRP: UNSPECIFIED
Subjects: Mandate crops > Sorghum
Depositing User: Library ICRISAT
Date Deposited: 14 Sep 2011 08:02
Last Modified: 14 Sep 2011 11:36
URI: http://oar.icrisat.org/id/eprint/1486
Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-3059.1994.tb00549...
Projects: UNSPECIFIED
Funders: UNSPECIFIED
Acknowledgement: UNSPECIFIED
Links:
View Statistics

Actions (login required)

View Item View Item