Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2003. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 128-137). Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2003. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 128-137). Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (Ph.D.). / Written for the Dept. of Plant Science. Title from title page of PDF (viewed 2008/01/11). Includes bibliographical references.

Three cultivators, Rabewerk, Kongskilde and Hiniker, and three intercrops, soybean, lupin and red clover + rye grass were investigated for their impact on the incidence of ear rot of corn, a common disease of maize in eastern Canada. Wheat was seeded in the corn rows to serve as an additional indicator of cultivation and intercropping effects on the pathogen. An artificial inoculum of F. graminearum that produced perithecia and ascospores was used to mimic natural inoculum. / In 1993 and 1994, the infection in the corn was not very severe and there were no differences between the treatments and the controls. / In 1993 and 1994, at both sites, wheat seeds from cultivation trials showed a tendency for greater disease incidence in the non-cultivated herbicide treatment when compared to any of the other cultivator treatments. Cultivators till the soil and bury corn residues, this action led to the destruction of some of the inoculum and a subsequent reduction of the disease incidence in the cultivated plots. / In the intercrop trial of 1993 and 1994, wheat infection was moderate to severe, except at L'Assomption in 1993, but no significant differences were observed among the treatments. It is believed that interplot interference, due to ascospores moving from one plot to the next, masked differences. / The results indicated that weed cultivation would have a negligible or no effect on the development of fusarium ear rot of corn in Quebec. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)

No description available.

Gibberella zeae (anamorph: Fusarium graminearum) is the causal agent of fusarium head blight (FHB) and maize ear rot, two major diseases of wheat and corn in Eastern Canada. / In Quebec, Microsphaeropsis sp., an antagonist of Venturia inaequalis, the causal agent of apple scab, was isolated from the apple leaf litter. This fungus, well adapted to Quebec climate, can reduce the initial inoculum of V. inaequalis. FHB and Gibberella ear rot are similar to apple scab because the major inoculum source comes from melanized structures produced on crop residues. Consequently, we evaluated the potential of Microsphaeropsis sp. (isolate P130A) to inhibit ascospore production of G. zeae when applied to crop residues as post harvest or pre-planting applications. Under in vitro conditions, the antagonist significantly reduced ascospore production on wheat and corn residues, when applied prior to (82% and 92% respectively) or at the same time as the pathogen (36% and 58% respectively). Under field conditions, the antagonist had no effect on the pattern of perithecia maturation but significantly reduced the number of ascospores produced on two sampling dates, May 1998 and July 1999. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)

No description available.