Discula destructiva, the causal agent of dogwood anthracnose, has caused severe mortality in dogwood over the last 30 years. Although considerable research has been done with dogwood anthracnose, the infection process by D. destructiva is still obscure. A resistant cultivar of Cornus florida, ‘Appalachian Spring’, was discovered and released by the Tennessee Agricultural Experiment Station. However, the resistance mechanisms are unknown. The objectives of this research were 1) to determine the sequence of events in the infection process of D. destructiva in C. florida and 2) to determine how host resistance affects infection events of D. destructiva on flowering dogwood. At 3 days after inoculation (DAI), majority of conidia germinated and hyphae were observed on the leaf surface. Direct penetration by D. destructiva hyphae was observed without appressorium formation. At 8 DAI, hyphae were aggregated between the cuticle and epidermis and grew intracellularly in epidermal cells, palisade parachyma, and spongy mesophyll cells. At 16 DAI, chloroplasts were intact but decompartmentalized and infection sites were clearly defined. Acervuli were detected at 20 DAI and were fully developed at 24 DAI on adaxial and abaxial leaf surfaces. Sporulation (ruptured acervuli) was observed at 20 DAI. This clear understanding of the infection process can be used to look for resistance mechanisms in dogwood germplasm. A resistant line would expect to slow or inhibit one or more infection events. There was no statistical difference between the percentages of germinated conidia on susceptible and resistant cultivars of flowering dogwood one day after inoculation (DAI). However, the resistant cultivar, ‘Appalachian Spring’, significantly suppressed the growth of D. destructiva conidial germ tubes at 2 DAI, 3 DAI and 4 DAI when compared to conidial germ tubes on leaves of the susceptible cultivar ‘Cloud 9’. Observed resistance may be due to smoother wax crystals on adaxial leaf surface and significantly thicker cuticle observed on leaves of ‘Appalachian Spring’. An unknown compound, observed highly concentrated in resistant but lower in susceptible cultivars, may be important as a resistance mechanism. These strategies reduced the inoculum potential of D. destructiva and play important roles in why ‘Appalachian Spring’ is resistant to dogwood anthracnose. These results provide new ways to use conidia germination test and germ tube growth measurement for detecting resistant cultivars.

[pt] O comportamento de vigas de concreto armado com barras de polímero reforçado com fibras de vidro (PRFV) submetidas ao esforço cortante tem diferenças quando comparada ao tradicional uso de armaduras de aço. O relativo baixo módulo de elasticidade e menor resistência ao carregamento transversal de barras de PRFV alteram a ação dos mecanismos de resistência e cinemática da fissura crítica ao cortante. Nesse contexto, a aplicação de fibras dispersas na matriz de concreto se coloca como uma possibilidade para buscar a redução da flexibilidade desse tipo de elemento. Sendo assim, este trabalho investiga o comportamento experimental de quatro vigas de concreto armado com barras de PRFV sem e com estribos e fibras de basalto. Utilizando-se da técnica de Correlação de Imagem Digital (CID), os campos de deslocamentos do vão de ruptura foram mapeados e, por meio de modelos constitutivos dos mecanismos resistentes à força cortante disponíveis na literatura, analisou-se o comportamento resistente das vigas. A quantificação de resistência através dos modelos constitutivos apresentou uma satisfatória correlação com os resultados experimentais. Além disso, a análise possibilitou uma melhor compreensão da contribuição dos mecanismos resistentes em diferentes estágios de carregamento. / [en] The shear behavior of reinforced concrete beams with Glass Fiber Reinforced Polymer Bars (GFRP) has differences when compared to traditional steel reinforcement. The relative low modulus of elasticity and the lower resistance to transverse loading of GFRP bars change the resistance mechanisms and kinematics of the critical shear crack. In this context, the application of dispersed fibers in the concrete matrix may be used to try to reduce the flexibility of this type of element. Therefore, this work investigates the experimental behavior of four reinforced concrete beams with GFRP bars with and without stirrups and basalt fibers. By using Digital Image Correlation (DIC) technique, the displacement fields of the failure span were mapped and, by means of constitutive models of the shear resistant mechanisms available in the literature, the resistant behavior of the beams was analyzed. The evaluation of resistance mechanisms through the constitutive models showed a satisfactory correlation with the experimental results. In addition, the analysis provided a better understanding of the contribution of each resistant mechanisms at different stages of loading.