Factors influencing infection, colonization and symptom expression in barley by Rhynchosporium secalis

Abstract

Germ tube growth and mycelium establishment of Rhynchosporium secalis, the causal agent of scald in barley, were studied in seven resistant and four susceptible barley hosts of known genotype. Although no visible symptoms were apparent, none of the resistant hosts were free from mycelium establishment in leaf tissue. The resistant hosts could be divided into two categories according to the rate of germ tube growth. The effect of host age, duration of incubation period, temperature, spore concentration, and pathogen age on symptom expression in the 11 genotypes was examined. Excluding the effects of temperature, the resistant genotypes could be grouped into (a) those expressing their resistance consistently, e.g. Psaknon, Atlas 46, Atlas 57, Hudson and Turk, and (b) those expressing their resistance inconsistently, e.g. West China and La Mesita. High temperature caused breakdown of resistance in Psaknon, Turk, Hudson and West China. The pathogenicity of one isolate (UWA307) was found to be impaired by high temperature. Implications of the above findings are discussed in relation to the disease situation in Western Australia.