Fusarium oxysporum M12-4A fungus is being evaluated for the biocontrol of Striga hermonthica, a parasitic weed of African cereal crops. The production of M12-4A inoculum was assessed in four Malian villages using local technology and substrates. A delivery system using arabic gum to temporarily glue inoculum powder onto the crop seed was tested. In controlled conditions, coating of sorghum seeds with arabic gum and inoculum powder did not affect seed germination or inoculum viability. However, one week at 40°C significantly decreased the viability of the inoculum by 31%. Fungus growth and chlamydospore germination were also reduced by temperatures of 34 and 36°C. M12-4A was susceptible to the fungicide thiram (ED50 = 38.5mug). Field trials were conducted in Mali to evaluate the large-scale efficacy of the seed coating technology. F. oxysporum M12-4A was detected from some S. hermonthica tissue and soil samples using specific primers and Real Time PCR.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:QMM.32755 |
| Date | January 2001 |
| Creators | Bastiani, Celia. |
| Contributors | Watson, A. K. (advisor) |
| Publisher | McGill University |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Coverage | Master of Science (Department of Plant Science.) |
| Rights | All items in eScholarship@McGill are protected by copyright with all rights reserved unless otherwise indicated. |
| Relation | alephsysno: 001871589, proquestno: MQ78827, Theses scanned by UMI/ProQuest. |
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