Project Details
Description
Anthracnose is a fungal disease complex affecting both sorghum and maize. As more area comes under sorghum cultivation, maize and sorghum will be increasingly grown in close proximity or in fields previously sown with the other crop. This would result in both novel and increased disease pressures. The use of no-till farming methods would exacerbate the problem since these fungi are better able to survive on exposed debris. It is thus important that we evaluate the abilities of the native strains to colonize the non-host species and cause disease in immediate and surrounding areas. Colletotrichum graminicola and Colletotrichum sublineolum are able to infect and colonize sorghum and maize tissue sufficiently to increase disease pressure in the following season. Our goal is to have a better understanding of this process and to utilize the naturally occurring antifungal compounds in the sorghum plant body to minimize this impact. The project will develop sorghum lines that are less amenable to fungal colonization and survival.
Status | Finished |
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Effective start/end date | 7/1/11 → 6/30/18 |
Funding
- National Institute of Food and Agriculture: $799,561.00