Journal articles on the topic 'Gall rust diseases'

Sengon (Falcataria falcata (L.) Greuter & R. Rankin) plantations in Indonesia are threatened by attacks from Boktor stem borers and gall rust disease. Controlling pests and diseases is difficult; therefore, planting resistant trees obtained from tree selection programs is necessary. Currently, genomic breeding often incorporates GWAS, which uses thousands of SNP markers to identify markers with significant associations with the traits studied. This study aimed to bypass such expensive studies by identifying and developing SNP markers from sequences of putative resistance genes to Boktor stem borer and gall rust disease, identified from sengon transcriptomic data analysis. A total of 496,194 putative SNP sites were identified from transcriptomic sequences using the SAMtools and BFCtools programs, of which 119 SNP sites were associated with resistance genes. Of the 101 non-synonymous SNPs selected, only 12 were located in the conserved domain of each gene and were used for primer design. Of the 13 primers designed, only 10 were successfully amplified. Validation of 10 developed SNP markers on 100 sengon accessions using the HRM method confirmed a significant association between SNP markers and resistance traits, with a -log 10 (P-value) between 10.49 and 16.63. A few SNPs markers developed from putative resistance gene sequences are associated with resistance traits in sengon. Therefore, the SNP markers could be applied in selection programs for sengon trees resistant to Boktor stem borers and gall rust disease.

It is demonstrated that for diseases characterized by a small number of discrete infections per tree, random placement of spores on trees results in substantial variation in the number of infections per tree. The consequences of this phenomenon for selection of resistant individuals and for natural selection are examined, using a previously reported distribution of susceptibility model for the western gall rust (Endocronartiumharknessii (J.P. Moore) Y. Hiratsuka)–lodgepole pine (Pinusconforta Dougl.) pathosystem as an example.

The acknowledgment of plant diseases assumes an indispensable part in taking infectious prevention measures to improve the quality and amount of harvest yield. Mechanization of plant diseases is a lot advantageous as it decreases the checking work in an enormous cultivated area where mango is planted to a huge extend. Leaves being the food hotspot for plants, the early and precise recognition of leaf diseases is significant. This work focused on grouping and distinguishing the diseases of mango leaves through the process of CNN. DenseNet201, InceptionResNetV2, InceptionV3, ResNet50, ResNet152V2, and Xception all these models of CNN with transfer learning techniques are used here for getting better accuracy from the targeted data set. Image acquisition, image segmentation, and features extraction are the steps involved in disease detection. Different kinds of leaf diseases which are considered as the class for this work such as anthracnose, gall machi, powdery mildew, red rust are used in the dataset consisting of 1500 images of diseased and also healthy mango leaves image data another class is also added in the dataset. We have also evaluated the overall performance matrices and found that the DenseNet201 outperforms by obtaining the highest accuracy as 98.00% than other models.

<p>The acknowledgment of plant diseases assumes an indispensable part in taking infectious prevention measures to improve the quality and amount of harvest yield. Mechanization of plant diseases is a lot advantageous as it decreases the checking work in an enormous cultivated area where mango is planted to a huge extend. Leaves being the food hotspot for plants, the early and precise recognition of leaf diseases is significant. This work focused on grouping and distinguishing the diseases of mango leaves through the process of CNN. DenseNet201, InceptionResNetV2, InceptionV3, ResNet50, ResNet152V2, and Xception all these models of CNN with transfer learning techniques are used here for getting better accuracy from the targeted data set. Image acquisition, image segmentation, and features extraction are the steps involved in disease detection. Different kinds of leaf diseases which are considered as the class for this work such as anthracnose, gall machi, powdery mildew, red rust are used in the dataset consisting of 1500 images of diseased and also healthy mango leaves image data another class is also added in the dataset. We have also evaluated the overall performance matrices and found that the DenseNet201 outperforms by obtaining the highest accuracy as 98.00% than other models.</p>

<i>Physoderma</i> fungal species cause faba bean gall (FBG) which devastates faba bean (<i>Vicia faba</i> L.) in the Ethiopian highlands. In three regions (Amahara, Oromia, and Tigray), the relative importance, distribution, intensity, and association with factors affecting FBG damage were assessed for the 2019 (283 fields) and 2020 (716 fields) main cropping seasons. A logistic regression model was used to associate biophysical factors with FBG incidence and severity. Amhara region has the highest prevalence of FBG (95.7%), followed by Tigray (83.3%), and the Oromia region (54%). Maximum FBG incidence (78.1%) and severity (32.8%) were recorded from Amhara and Tigray areas, respectively. The chocolate spot was most prevalent in West Shewa, Finfinne Special Zone, and North Shewa of the Oromia region. Ascochyta blight was found prevalent in North Shewa, West Shewa, Southwest Shewa of Oromia, and the South Gondar of Amhara. Faba bean rust was detected in all zones except for the South Gonder and North Shewa, and root rot disease was detected in all zones except South Gonder, South Wollo, and North Shewa of Amahara. Crop growth stage, cropping system, altitude, weed density, and fungicide, were all found to affect the incidence and severity of the FBG. Podding and maturity stage, mono-cropping, altitude (>2,400), high weed density, and non-fungicide were found associated with increased disease intensities. However, crop rotation, low weed infestation, and fungicide usage were identified as potential management options to reduce FBG disease.

The Cordillera Administrative Region provides the ideal environment for the production of planting materials of semi-temperate vegetables, root crops, beverages, fruits and ornamentals. However, the presence of degenerative diseases caused by viruses do not only reduce yield in time but also affects the planting materials produced. Under the quarantine regulations, the movement of planting material from country of origin to the destination country primarily requires the indexing of plant viruses before they are transported and planted in the field. Hence, a survey was conducted in Abra, Apayao, Benguet, Ifugao, Kalinga and Mountain Province to identify and assess the incidence and severity of diseases of quarantine importance affecting high value crops. For virus diseases, 100% incidence of Tomato Mosaic Virus (TMV) was recorded in one hectare tomato farm in Bokod, Benguet; Banana Bunchy Top Virus (BBTV) with 40% incidence at Sablan, Benguet (0.20 ha); 20% in Balbalan, Kalinga (0.03 ha), 30% at Conner, Apayao (2.5 ha) and 20% in Aguinaldo, Ifugao (1.5 ha); Turnip Yellow Mosaic Virus (TYMV) in 80% of Chinese cabbage plants (0.20 ha) at Buguias, Benguet;15% incidence of Potato Aucuba Mosaic Virus (PAMV) in potato at Bauko, Mountain Province (0.25 ha); and 12% incidence of yellowing, little leaf and mosaic symptoms in coffee seedlings in nurseries in Tublay, Benguet. For bacterial diseases, 10% incidence of mushroom bacterial blotch (Pseudomonas sp.) was noted in La Trinidad and Ralstonia solanacearum Race 1 causing bacterial wilt was isolated from seed potatoes collected in Atok, Benguet. Rose crown gall was known to be a serious problem in white rose in Alno, La Trinidad, Benguet. Fungal diseases documented were yam anthracnose, chrysanthemum white rust, anthurium leaf spot, strawberry leaf spot and berry rot, coffee leaf spot and Fusarium wilt in banana while those due by fungal-like organisms were potato late blight and taro leaf blight.

Mutation is a process of change in genetic structure of particular organisme. Genetic changes due to mutation can produce new characteristic and increase genetic diversity, which will be utilized for improvement program. Several artificial mutation programs have proved to produce new superior individual. One common artificial mutation used is gamma radiation. This study aimed to characterize 9 years old gamma irradiated sengon trees, with doses 0, 5, 10, and 15 krad based on its morphological characters, wood density, resistant to diseases. The observed parameters were tree diameter, height, volume, clear bole height, stem straightness, permanent branch, number of branches, canopy length, wood density and resistance to gall rust disease. Average values of all parameters of mutant lines does not differ significantly from control trees, however some individuals have better morphological characters than others. Mutant lines with 5 krad dose have close association with permanent branch and stem straightness, 15 krad dose with volume, diameter, height and crown length, while 10 krad with number of branches. Average wood density of mutant lines did not differ significantly from control either, with highest value belonged to 10 krad dose. Selected superior tree candidates were individuals with number 5.07, K1, 15.27, and 15 NN.Key word: breeding, characterization, mutation, sengon.

Lodgepole pine ( Pinus contorta Dougl. ex Loud. var. latifolia Engelm.) has been extensively planted throughout interior British Columbia, and as a result may be particularly susceptible to climate-induced changes in the range and severity of common damaging agents. We quantified the presence of 14 damaging agents in sixty-six 15- to 30-year-old pine stands. Hard pine stem rusts, primarily western gall rust, were present on every site. We used logistic regression to predict individual agent presence from climatic, location, site, and treatment factors and calculated odds ratios to evaluate whether risk to lodgepole pine increases or decreases as these factors change. Risk of damage from serious agents (stem disease, root disease, and mountain pine beetle) increased with increasing latitude; however, in several of these models, risk also increased as temperature of the coldest month got warmer. We also found evidence that increasing risk of damage from agents that are currently less serious (sequoia pitch moth, pine needle cast, and pine terminal weevil) was associated with warming and (or) increasingly dry climatic conditions. Given the predominance of lodgepole pine in northerly ecosystems and the prediction that climate change effects will increase with latitude, our results suggest the need to consider potential increases in damage from diseases and insects during silviculture planning and timber supply prediction.

<em>The study was conducted to assess the teliospore morpho-quantitative variations and severity of Uromycladium falcatarium Doungsa-ard, McTaggart, Geering &amp; R.G. Shivas causing gall rust disease across elevations and stand ages of falcata plantations in Mindanao. Two falcata plantations were identified across elevations from Low (0-400 m asl), Moderate (&gt;400-800 m asl), and High (&gt;800 m asl) and were classified as non-harvestable (&lt;5yo) and harvestable (&gt;5yo) for the stand ages. Likewise, matured galls were also collected from each plantation for microscopic analysis of the fungal teliospores. The result revealed a significant increase in disease severity (P&lt;0.01) of gall rust in Falcata and teliospore length (P&lt;0.05) of the fungus as influenced by an increasing elevation from 400 m asl and above. Meanwhile, the teliospore width (P&lt;0.05) and wall thickness (P&lt;0.05) significantly varied between stand ages which revealed a wider width in harvestable (&gt;5yo) and thicker wall in non-harvestable (&lt;5yo), respectively. In addition, gall rust severity revealed a significant relationship between elevation and teliospore characteristics that correspond to the survival and prevalence of the fungus. This study provides substantial information and input in understanding the pathogen characteristics and survival under field conditions. published by the&nbsp;<strong> </strong></em><strong>Journal of Biodiversity and Environmental Sciences (JBES)</strong>

Grafted ramets, full-sib families, and open-pollinated families were derived from two healthy and one western gall rust (Endocronartiumharknessii (J. P. Moore) Y. Hiratsuka) infected Scots pine (Pinussylvestris L.) and inoculated with western gall rust. Resistance appeared to be a qualitative character; grafts and seedlings either had many infected shoots or none. All F1 families for which the diseased tree was one of the parents were about 50% infected. All other full-sib families showed &lt;15% infection. There was no distinction between bulk inoculum collections from Scots and from lodgepole (Pinuscontorta Dougl.) pine. It is proposed that susceptibility to western isolates of the gall rust in the Scots pine trees tested in this experiment is conditioned by a dominant gene.

Lelana Ne, Wiyono S, Giyanto, Siregar IZ. 2018. Genetic diversity of Falcataria moluccana and its relationship to the resistance of gall rust disease. Biodiversitas 19: 12-17. The use of cultivars that are resistant to a particular disease is one strategy that could mitigate the incidence of gall rust disease on Falcataria moluccana. Previous studies on the genetic diversity of F. moluccana did not attempt to link that genetic diversity to gall rust disease resistance. This research was carried out using RAPD analysis to determine the preliminary information on the association between different markers and the resistance to gall rust disease. The analysis evaluated a total of 20 pairs of healthy and infected F. moluccana trees that were classified based on their disease severity level. The RAPD primers used in this study were as follows: OPA-05, OPA-08, OPA-10, OPA-13, OPA-18, OPB-07, OPD-13, OPF-02, and OPG-05. The results showed that each RAPD primer produced a varying number of polymorphic bands, ranging from 3 to 12 bands, with a total of 80 polymorphic bands. Despite the number of loci analyzed, however, no specific polymorphic bands were found that could distinguish between healthy and diseased trees. This was supported by principal component analysis, which showed that healthy and diseased populations were not distributed separately. The structure analysis also showed that the healthy and diseased populations were not different.

Leaf rust and stripe rust are devastating wheat diseases, causing significant yield losses in many regions of the world. The use of resistant varieties is the most efficient way to protect wheat crops from these diseases. Sharon goatgrass (Aegilops sharonensis or AES), which is a diploid wild relative of wheat, exhibits a high frequency of leaf and stripe rust resistance. We used the resistant AES accession TH548 and induced homoeologous recombination by the ph1b allele to obtain resistant wheat recombinant lines carrying AES chromosome segments in the genetic background of the spring wheat cultivar Galil. The gametocidal effect from AES was overcome by using an “anti-gametocidal” wheat mutant. These recombinant lines were found resistant to highly virulent races of the leaf and stripe rust pathogens in Israel and the United States. Molecular DArT analysis of the different recombinant lines revealed different lengths of AES segments on wheat chromosome 6B, which indicates the location of both resistance genes.

Shorea balangeran is native species of peat swamp forests that have a relatively faster growth than other tress in the same place. This species is in the category of critically endangered (CR). The purpose of this research is to identify the damage level of Shorea balangeran that be caused by pests and diseases. The research was conducted in Nurseryof Watershed Management Agency and Protection Forest of Kahayan. Research method used simple random sampling with amount of samples were 800 Shorea balangeran. The research were conducted start from May to December, 2016. The results of research show the some pests and diseases that attack Shorea balangeran, they ar grasshopper, caterpillars fire, leaf spot disease, sooty mold, leaf rust, and leaf galls. They are sequentially caused by Catantops splendens, Thosea sp., Pestalotia sp., Capnodium sp., Hemileia sp., and the pests from Order Hymenoptera. The intensity of pest attack in Shorea balangeran is 5.88% and a frequency 1.5%. The intensity of disease is 19.1% and a frequency 58.5%. Both combination are 7.13% and 2.65%.

The mucopolysaccharidoses (MPS), Pompe Disease (PD), and Krabbe disease (KD) are inherited conditions known as lysosomal storage disorders (LSDs) The resulting enzyme deficiencies give rise to progressive symptoms. The United States Department of Health and Human Services’ Recommended Uniform Screening Panel (RUSP) suggests LSDs for inclusion in state universal newborn screening (NBS) programs and has identified screening deficiencies in MPS I, KD, and PD NBS programs. MPS I NBS programs utilize newborn dried blood spots and assay alpha L-iduronidase (IDUA) enzyme to screen for potential cases. Glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) offer potential as a confirmatory test. KD NBS programs utilize galactocerebrosidase (GaLC) as an initial test, with psychosine (PSY) activity increasingly used as a confirmatory test for predicting onset of Krabbe disease, though with an excessive false positive rate. PD is marked by a deficiency in acid α-glucosidase (GAA), causing increased glycogen, creatine (CRE), and other biomarkers. Bivariate normal limit (BVNL) methods have been applied to GaLC and PSY activity to produce a NBS tool for KD, and more recently, to IDUA and GAG activity to develop a NBS tool for MPS I. A BVNL tool based on GAA and CRE is in development for infantile PD diagnosis. Early infantile KD, MPS I, and PD cases were pre-symptomatically identified by BVNL-based NBS tools. This article reviews these developments, discusses how they address screening deficiencies identified by the RUSP and may improve NBS more generally.

Loblolly pine is an economically important timber species in the United States, with almost 1 billion seedlings produced annually. The most significant disease affecting this species is fusiform rust, caused by Cronartium quercuum f. sp. fusiforme. Testing for disease resistance in the greenhouse involves artificial inoculation of seedlings followed by visual inspection for disease incidence. An automated, high-throughput phenotyping method could improve both the efficiency and accuracy of the disease screening process. This study investigates the use of hyperspectral imaging for the detection of diseased seedlings. A nursery trial comprising families with known in-field rust resistance data was conducted, and the seedlings were artificially inoculated with fungal spores. Hyperspectral images in the visible and near-infrared region (400–1000 nm) were collected six months after inoculation. The disease incidence was scored with traditional methods based on the presence or absence of visible stem galls. The seedlings were segmented from the background by thresholding normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) images, and the delineation of individual seedlings was achieved through object detection using the Faster RCNN model. Plant parts were subsequently segmented using the DeepLabv3+ model. The trained DeepLabv3+ model for semantic segmentation achieved a pixel accuracy of 0.76 and a mean Intersection over Union (mIoU) of 0.62. Crown pixels were segmented using geometric features. Support vector machine discrimination models were built for classifying the plants into diseased and non-diseased classes based on spectral data, and balanced accuracy values were calculated for the comparison of model performance. Averaged spectra from the whole plant (balanced accuracy = 61%), the crown (61%), the top half of the stem (77%), and the bottom half of the stem (62%) were used. A classification model built using the spectral data from the top half of the stem was found to be the most accurate, and resulted in an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) of 0.83.

This study presents the results of a multiple-year evaluation (1991-1996; 2005-2007) of susceptibility of more than 100 apple cultivars to Venturia inaequalis, Podosphaera leucotricha and Erwinia amylovora under agroecological conditions existing in Serbia. Some of the most popular cultivars were found highly susceptible to V. inaequalis (Cripps Pink, Mutsu, Gloster 69, Wellspur); while Golden Delicious, Richared, Gala, Cacanska pozna, Cadel and Jonagold were susceptible; Idared, Granny Smith and Jonathan moderately susceptible; Lord Lamburne and London Pepping, as well as several autochthonous cultivars were moderately resistant; and a group of resistant cultivars included Prima, Priscilla, Williams Pride, Dayton, Enterprise, Gold Rush, Golden Orange, many of the Re-cultivars (Germany), as well as Baujade, Selena, Duk?t, Produkta, Topaz, some older cvs. (Worcester Pearmain, Merton Worcester, James Grieve, Akane, Astilish, Astrachan Red and Discovery), some Co-op selections (USA) and NS hybrids (Serbia). Regarding powdery mildew, Idared and Jonathan were highly susceptible; Gala, Akane, Jonagold, Priscilla, Mutsu, Cacanska pozna, Golden Delicious, Granny Smith, Cadel and GoldRush were susceptible; Wellspur, Astrachan Red, Richared, Jonadel, Dayton and several autochthonous cultivars were moderately susceptible; Lord Lamburne, Astlisch, Prima, Champagne Reinette, Discovery and many autochthonous cultivars were moderately resistant; while most Re-cvs. (Germany), several cultivars from the Czech Republic, some selections from the USA and UK and most NS hybrids (Serbia) were resistant. Also, some cultivars showed variable susceptibility depending on location (Williams Pride, Gloster 69, Baujade and Produkta). E. amylovora was observed only in 2007 and at relatively low intensity (up to 12% infection). The highest disease severity was observed on cv. Elstar, then Granny Smith, Idared and Jonagored; while the lowest was found on Red Chief and Hapke apple trees.

Relevance. The Galega orientalis, growing in one place for many years in a row, accumulates many different diseases and insect pests in its agrobiocenosis and the seed productivity of the crop decreases, so comprehensive protection of crops is relevant.Methods. The accounting platforms were laid on the experimental field of the Vologda State Agricultural Academy in 2012 on the Gale variety. The soil of the site is sod-slightly podzolic, medium loamy, with a capacity of the arable horizon of 20-22 cm and a humus content of 2.6%. Observations of diseases and pests were carried out during the entire growing season of the Galega orientalis from May to September once a decade. The collection of insect pests was carried out with an entomological net, based on samples in 10 strokes, which corresponded to the density of insects per 1 m2.Results. Diseases such as peronosporosis, powdery mildew and rust with an average number of 5-9 specimens per 1 m2 were detected on Galega orientalis. The pests were dominated by nodule weevils of the genus Sitona, clover seed eaters of the genus Apion and grass bugs, with a number of more than 10 specimens per 1 m2. The integrated protection of Galega orientalis included weeding of experimental plots from weeds, spraying of crops from diseases in the phase of regrowth of the Galega orientalis with a fungicide — Falcon with a consumption rate of 0.6 l/ha and from pests in the budding phase of the culture — with a microbiological preparation Bitoxibacillin with consumption rates of 2, 3 and 4 kg/ha. A sufficiently high efficiency of the fungicide Falcon, CS (suspension concentrate) with a consumption rate of 0.6 l /ha — 80.9-91.7% — was established. The efficiency of Bitoxibacillin with a consumption rate of 4 kg/ha was 89.5-92.5%.

The Galega orientalis, growing in one place for many years in a row, accumulates many different diseases and insect pests in its agrobiocenosis and the seed productivity of the crop decreases, so comprehensive protection of crops is relevant. The accounting platforms were laid on the experimental field of the Vologda State Agricultural Academy in 2012 on the Gale variety. The soil of the site is sod-slightly podzolic, medium loamy, with a capacity of the arable horizon of 20–22 cm and a humus content of 2.6%. Observations of diseases and pests were carried out during the entire growing season of the Galega orientalis — from May to September once a decade. The collection of insect pests was carried out with an entomological net, based on samples in 10 strokes, which corresponded to the density of insects per 1 m2. Diseases such as peronosporosis, powdery mildew and rust with an average number of 5–9 specimens per 1 m2 were detected on Galega orientalis. The pests were dominated by nodule weevils of the genus Sitona, clover seed eaters of the genus Apion and grass bugs, with a number of more than 10 specimens per 1 m2. The integrated protection of the eastern goat patch included weeding of experimental plots from weeds, spraying of crops: from diseases in the regrowth phase of the eastern goat patch — with the fungicide "Falcon" with a consumption rate of 0.6 l/ha, from pests in the budding phase of the culture — with the microbiological preparation "Bitoxibacillin" with consumption rates of 2, 3 and 4 kg /ha. A sufficiently high efficiency of the fungicide "Falcon", CS (suspension concentrate) with a consumption rate of 0.6 l/ha — 80.9–91.7% has been established. The effectiveness of the drug "Bitoxibacillin" with a consumption rate of 4 kg / ha was 89.5–92.5%.

Common groundsel (Senecio vulgaris, Asteraceae) is native to Europe and is now a common weed mainly in disturbed habitats of almost worldwide distribution. In November 2000, groundsel plants growing adjacent to lettuce fields in California's coastal Salinas Valley (Monterey County) showed symptoms of rust. In a 0.2-ha survey area, 75% of the plants were infected. Examination of weeds growing in four residential blocks also uncovered infected groundsel. Densely clustered, orange aecia were observed on leaves and stems. Stems were swollen where aecia had formed. Blossom and fruit formation was not notably reduced, although some involucral bracts were infected. Aeciospores measured 14 to 18 μm × 12.5 to 15 μm (fresh material). Telia were not found. The pathogen was identified as Puccinia lagenophorae Cooke, a rust fungus that is native to Australia and New Zealand and infects plants of the subfamily Asteroideae (family Asteraceae) (3). P. lagenophorae is an autoecious species forming only repeating aecia (stage I) and telia (stage III). There are six other rusts of Senecio that occur in the United States (1) that readily form aecia but not telia on Senecio spp. When only aecia are observed on Senecio, which is typical for P. lagenophorae (2), the following features can be used to differentiate it from these other species: no pycnia (stage 0) are formed; aecia are formed repeatedly; systemic growth that results in deformation of the host, including formation of galls with dense clusters of aecia on the stem; poorly developed aecial peridium; and aeciospores small, measuring 12.5 to 18.5 μm × 10.0 to 16.0 μm (4). In addition, P. lagenophorae forms aecia even at the end of the year in northern temperate zones, whereas heteroecious species form aecia only in spring and early summer (2). This is the first record of P. lagenophorae in North America. Specimens were deposited in the Arthur Herbarium, Purdue University. Outside its native habitat, this fungus has been found in Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and South America. There are about 60 known host species of P. lagenophorae (3) including ornamentals such as Bellis perennis, Calendula officinalis, and Senecio cruentus. The pathogen may have been introduced to North America via land from South America through Central America, or by the importation of ornamentals that were either infected with rust or infested with diseased groundsel. References: (1) D. F. Farr et al. 1989. Fungi on Plants and Plant Products in the United States. American Phytopathological Society, St. Paul, MN. (2) M. Scholler. Regensb. Myk. Schr. 6:1, 1996. (3) M. Scholler. J. Plant Dis. Prot. 105:239, 1998. (4) I. Wilson et al. Trans. Brit. Mycol. Soc. 48:501, 1965.

This study provides a morphological description of Cytospora spp. isolates collected from apple tree branches affected by Cytospora canker. Cytospora canker is a globally widespread disease caused by highly aggressive pathogens that induce cankers in woody plants within both natural and agro-ecosystems. In severe cases, cankers can lead to the dieback of branches and trees. This article presents the first report of Cytospora sorbina and Cytospora parasitica species identified in intensive apple orchards of Almaty region, Kazakhstan. Notably, the species composition, as well as the morphological and genetic characteristics of Cytospora spp. pathogens causing Cytospora canker in Kazakhstan, remain understudied. Consequently, this study examined the cultural and morphological properties of Cytospora canker pathogens, including determining optimal growth media and temperature conditions for these pathogens. For microbiological analysis, samples were collected from five intensive apple orchards in the Almaty region, yielding 15 fungal isolates from the following apple varieties: Gala, Granny Smith, Golden Delicious, Golden Rush and Fuji. Based on morphological and cultural characteristics, the isolates were identified as Cytospora sorbina and Cytospora parasitica. The results showed optimal growth conditions at 27°C on potato dextrose agar (PDA). This study provides insights into the host-pathogen biological interactions, potentially facilitating improvements in early diagnostics and the development of integrated disease management strategies against Cytospora-related diseases to protect apple orchards.

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Abstract Falcataria moluccana (batai) is one of the valuable multipurpose tree species for forest plantations, particularly in Malaysia and Indonesia. Gall rust disease caused by Uromycladium tepperianum (Sacc.) is one of the most destructive diseases in Batai plantations. The disease causes severe damage at all developmental stages of the plant from the nursery stage to mature trees in the field and includes the development of chocolate brown, cauliflower-like or whip-like galls on the stem, branch, petiole, shoot and pod. Different seed sources may respond differently to gall rust fungus. Thus, the responses of F. moluccana seedlings from 6 selected seed sources to gall rust disease caused by U. tepperianum, were evaluated, at the Brumas Estate, Malaysia, in terms of gall rust disease severity, mortality, and disease infection rate of the seedlings. Based on disease severity, infection rate and cumulative mortality due to gall rust disease, the wamena was found to be the best seed source in relation to gall rust disease resistance.

Abstract. Rahayu S, Triyogo A, Widyastuti SM, Musyafa’, Ardianyah F. 2021. Pests and diseases on Falcataria moluccana trees in agroforestry systems with pineapple in East Java, Indonesia. Biodiversitas 22: 2779-2788. The agroforestry system using Falcataria moluccana (Sengon) and Ananas comosus (pineapple) is considered as a profitable intercropping system in Indonesia. To make it viable, it is necessary to evaluate the effect of mixed cropping on the incidence and severity of diseases and pests on Sengon trees and apply management measures. The present study was conducted (i) to assess the pest and disease problems on Sengon trees in the agroforestry system and (ii) to identify the most harmful pathogen/pest which affects the growth and causes mortality of Sengon trees at the beginning of intercropping and after the removal of pineapple from the system. Incidence of pests and diseases were assessed in 3 replicate blocks with one-year-old Sengon trees mixed with pineapple, and in another 3 plots with four-year-old Sengon trees from where pineapple was removed after harvesting. Sengon and pineapple were planted in the plots using alley cropping method with 3 x 4 m2 spacing. The results showed that there were no significant pest and disease problems on pineapple. However, Sengon was infested by the white grub Lepidiota stigma, gall rust caused by the fungus Uromycladium falcatarium, the stem borer Xystrocera festiva, and mistletoe Scurrula sp. However, stem borer and gall rust were the only pest and disease issues recorded in the monocultures of Sengon in Indonesia. The occurrence of stem borer and gall rust disease had a significant effect on the diameter growth of trees and in some instances, these caused mortality of one-year-old trees. Significant mortality of four-year-old trees was caused by mistletoe infestation only. Although the incidence of gall rust and stem borer in the agroforestry system was not significantly low compared to the monoculture, the former had wider spacing between trees, more open canopy and resultant low humidity and faster wind speed reduced the severity of the gall rust disease and stem borer attack. However, the intercropping resulted in the white grub attack on young Sengon trees which calls for application of contaminant-free fertilizers in pineapple plantings.

Abstract A description is provided for Cronartium conigenum. Information is included on the diseases, cone gall rust of Pinus species and leaf rust of Quercus species, caused by the organism. Details are given of its transmission, geographical distribution (Mexico, USA (Arizona and New Mexico), Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua) and hosts (Pinus caribaea, P. douglasiana, P. elliottii, P. leiophylla, P. leiophylla var. chihuahuana, P. maximinoi, P. michoacana, P. montezumae, P. oocarpa, P. patula, P. pseudostrobus, P. rudis [Pinus hartwegii], P. teocote, Quercus emoryi, Q. grisea, Q. hypoleuca, Q. hypoleucoides, Castanea dentata, Castanea mollissima, Castanea pumila, Castanea sativa, Castanopsis diversifolia, Lithocarpus densiflora, Quercus agrifolia, Q. alba, Q. cerris, Q. coccinea, Q. douglasii, Q. gambelii, Q. geminata [Quercus virginiana], Q. imbricaria, Q. macrocarpa, Q. marilandica, Q. minor, Q. palustris, Q. phellos, Q. platanoides, Q. prinus [Quercus montana], Q. robur, Q. rubra, Q. velutina and Q. virginiana).

Abstract A description is provided for Cronartium quercuum. Information is included on the diseases caused by the organism, i.e. stem gall rust of Pinus species and leaf rust of Quercus species. Details are given of its transmission, geographical distribution (Canada (Ontario), Mexico, USA (Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington DC [District of Columbia], Wisconsin and Wyoming), Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Guyana and Cuba) and hosts (Pinus banksiana, P. caribaea, P. clausa, P. echinata, P. elliottii, P. glabra, P. halepensis, P. kesiya, P. leiophylla var. chichuahuana, P. massoniana, P. montezumae, P. nigra, P. oocarpa, P. palustris, P. patula, P. pinaster, P. ponderosa, P. pungens, P. radiata, P. resinosa, P. rigida, P. serotina, P. sylvestris, P. taeda, P. thunbergii, P. virginiana, Castanea dentata, Castanopsis chrysophylla, Quercus agrifolia, Q. alba, Q. bicolor, Q. chrysolepis, Q. coccinea, Q. dumosa, Q. garryana, Q. ilicifolia, Q. imbricaria, Q. laurifolia, Q. macrocarpa, Q. marilandica, Q. myrtifolia, Q. nigra, Q. palustris, Q. phellos, Q. prinoides, Q. prinus [Quercus montana], Q. pumila, Q. rubra, Q. stellata, Q. suber, Q. velutina, Q. virginiana, Castanea mollissima, Castanea pumila, Castanea sativa, Castanopsis argentea and Castanopsis diversifolia).

Background: Legumes, such as lentils, field peas, Faba beans and chickpeas, are high in vitamins, fiber, important minerals and protein and can help avoid obesity and cardiovascular illnesses. They also contribute to ecosystem services, such as nitrogen fixation and resilience to environmental stresses. Despite a 60% increase in global pulse production from 2000 to 2021, a demand-supply gap, especially in South Asia, raises concerns about nutritional access. Since illnesses are currently an issue to the food security of faba beans, machine learning is required for efficient disease identification. Methods: This research employs Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) for robust Faba bean leaf disease identification. The CNN model is trained with diverse images representing specific diseases. The study focuses on diseases like Chocolate Spot, Faba Bean Gall, Rust and Healthy leaves. Image processing involves resizing, grayscale conversion and labeling. The CNN architecture includes eight convolutional layers, four max-pooling layers and three dropout layers. The model is trained using 80% of the dataset, validated using 20% and tested for accuracy. Result: The CNN model achieves an accuracy of 99.37% during training and 89.69% during validation after 75 epochs. Confusion matrix and classification report illustrate the model’s performance. It shows high precision, recall and F1 scores for each class, indicating balanced performance. Chocolate Spot and Rust exhibit the highest precision and F1 scores. The overall accuracy is 91%, comparable to other studies on Faba bean disease detection. The study presents a CNN-based disease identification system for Faba beans, demonstrating high accuracy and balanced performance across different diseases. The model’s effectiveness is comparable to other advanced techniques. The research highlights the potential of machine learning in optimizing disease management for Faba beans. Future work could explore a broader range of diseases and incorporate hybrid machine learning algorithms for further improvement.

This study describes the impacts of 25 damaging agents recorded on young lodgepole pine trees over a 30-year period in a study plot in southern British Columbia. During the study, density fluctuated due to infill and mortality. Of the 1,295 stems per hectare present at the outset of the study, 37% of lodgepole pine died and only 24% of the trees remained pest-free by the final assessment. Pest-free trees were predominantly small and suppressed infill, leaving just over 1,000 stems per hectare of crop trees. Lodgepole pine terminal weevil affected over 38% of pine, with up to six attacks per tree. Fifty percent of lodgepole pine in the study was infected or killed by one or more hard pine stem rusts, with comandra blister rust and western gall rust being the predominant diseases, affecting 32% and 19% of the pine, respectively. Until age 20, 70% of weevil attacks caused major defects. From age 20–40 years, 50% of attacks caused major defects, often forks or multiple tops (stagheads). Defects were more severe when trees were attacked early in stand development. There was a strong correlation between the number of weevil attacks per tree and tree form, and the number of pests recorded per tree and tree form. Two or more pests per tree caused tree form to shift from good to moderate or poor.

Faba bean is a cool-season grain legume crop, which is grown worldwide for food and feed. Despite a decrease in area under faba bean in the past, the interest in growing faba bean is increasing globally due to its high seed protein content and its excellent ecological service. The crop is, however, exposed to diverse biotic and abiotic stresses causing unstable, low grain yield. Although, sources of resistance to main diseases, such as ascochyta blight (Ascochyta fabae Speg.), rust (Uromyces viciae-fabae (Pers.) Schroet.), chocolate spot (Botrytis fabae Sard.) and gall disease (Physioderma viciae), have been identified, their resistance is only partial and cannot prevent grain yield losses without agronomical practices. Tightly associated DNA markers for host plant resistance genes are needed to enhance the level of resistance. Less progress has been made for abiotic stresses. Different breeding methods are proposed, but until now line breeding, based on the pedigree method, is the dominant practice in breeding programs. Nonetheless, the low seed multiplication coefficient and the requirement for growing under insect-proof enclosures to avoid outcrossing hampers breeding, along with the lack of tools such as double haploid system and cytoplasmic male sterility. This reduces breeding population size and speed of breeding hence the chances of capturing rare combinations of favorable alleles. Availability and use of the DNA markers such as vicine-convicine (vc−) and herbicide tolerance in breeding programs have encouraged breeders and given confidence in marker assisted selection. Closely linked QTL for several biotic and abiotic stress tolerance are available and their verification and conversion in breeder friendly platform will enhance the selection process. Recently, genomic selection and speed breeding techniques together with genomics have come within reach to accelerate the genetic gains in faba bean. Advancements in genomic resources with other breeding tools, methods and platforms will enable to accelerate the breeding process for enhancing genetic gain in this species.