Bioassay of Undisturbed Soil Cores for the Presence of Gaeumannomyces Graminis Var. Tritici

Abstract

The presence of viable G. graminis var. tritici in field soil was detected by a bioassay. Wheat seedlings were grown in undisturbed soil cores maintained under standard conditions for 4 weeks. The percentage of roots infected per core was the main parameter chosen to give an estimate of the level of G. graminis var. tritici inoculum in the core. Some variability between cores from the same site was observed, but this could be reduced by taking cores over plant remains within take-all patches. In this way, high and reasonably uniform levels of inoculum could be obtained to study the effect of various treatments on the incidence of G. graminis var. trifici.