A ProMED-mail post
http://www.promedmail.org
ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases
http://www.isid.org

Date: Fri 26 Aug 2022
Source: Agriland [summ. Mod.DHA, edited]
https://www.agriland.co.uk/farming-news/take-all-the-main-yield-robber-this-year-in-co-down/

Take-all has had a major impact on both winter wheat and barley yields in 2022 in county Cork. The dry weather in the weeks leading up to harvest served to exacerbate the problem, resulting in lower yields. The disease has impacted wheat and barley crops equally.
[Byline: Richard Halleron]

--
Communicated by: ProMED

[Take-all of wheat and barley is caused by the fungus _Gaeumannomyces 
tritici_ (previously _G. graminis_ var. _tritici_). It can cause severe yield losses of up to 50% and grain quality is reduced. The pathogen was first recognised in Australia in 1852. Take-all is considered the most serious root disease of cereals worldwide but appears to be restricted to temperate areas.

Disease symptoms may include rotting of roots and lower stems; stunting of plants; whitened seed heads; shrivelled grains; reduced tillering and sterile spikes. Infection can occur throughout the crop cycle. Disease development is favoured by cool soil temperatures,
alkaline or nutrient deficient soils, nitrate, as well as minimum tilling practices. Disease severity is expressed as take-all index (TAI), which is calculated as the proportion of nodal root systems with symptoms.

The pathogen is soil-borne and persists on crop debris in the soil. Volunteer cereal plants and grasses may serve as pathogen reservoirs. Disease management relies primarily on cultural practices (such as crop rotation with non-hosts, moderate planting density, control of 
reservoir hosts, field drainage), as well as phytosanitation to minimise carry-over of inoculum to subsequent crops. Fungicides are being used as seed treatments, but are not very effective against soil-borne fungi. No varieties of wheat or barley exist at present with specific resistance to take-all. Further research is being carried out (ProMED post http://promedmail.org/post/20210330.8277006 & see link below); _Triticum monococcum_, one of the ancestors of modern cultivated wheats (_T. aestivum_, _T. turgidum_) has been shown as a potential source of take-all resistance genes.

Some decline in disease severity ("take-all decline") has been reported after a few years of successive wheat or barley crops. This is thought to be due to the development of environmental microorganisms antagonistic to the fungus, but does not return yields to the level of uninfected crops.

The related _G. avenae_ affects oats; _G. maydis_ affects maize; _G. 
graminis_ affects rice (ProMED-mail post
http://promedmail.org/post/20150910.3635557) and a range of grasses. 

Maps
Ireland:
http://www.vidiani.com/maps/maps_of_europe/maps_of_ireland/general_map_of_ireland.jpg
and
https://ontheworldmap.com/ireland/counties-map-of-ireland.jpg
(counties)

Pictures
Take-all symptoms on wheat:
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4147/5072208132_825a07ab62_z.jpg,
http://sites.science.oregonstate.edu/bpp/Plant_Clinic/images/wheat,%20takeall.jpg,
https://bugwoodcloud.org/images/1536x1024/5558477.jpg,
https://bmcontent.affino.com/AcuCustom/Sitename/DAM/081/AF_June_p34_35_take-all_Main.jpg
and
https://s3.amazonaws.com/soilquality-production/resources/38/original/Biol_-_Take_All_fig3.PNG
Affected wheat fields:
http://www.aafarmer.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/Wheat-infected-with-take-all.jpg,
https://www.agric.wa.gov.au/sites/gateway/files/styles/original/public/Take-all_view.jpg
and
https://stmaaprodfwsite.blob.core.windows.net/assets/sites/1/2019/08/2-take-all-in-wheat-D9_02566-c-Blackthorn-Arable.jpg

Links
Information on take-all of cereals (with pictures):
http://soilquality.org.au/factsheets/take-all-disease,
https://ahdb.org.uk/take-all,
https://cropscience.bayer.co.uk/threats/diseases/cereal-diseases/take-all/,
https://cropprotectionnetwork.org/resources/articles/diseases/take-all-of-wheat
and
http://www.plantmanagementnetwork.org/pub/php/diagnosticguide/take-all/
Take-all life cycle:
https://projectblue.blob.core.windows.net/media/Default/Imported%20Publication%20Thumbs/AHDB%20Cereals%20&%20Oilseeds/Disease/Take-all%20life%20cycle.JPG
and
https://projects.ncsu.edu/cals/course/pp728/Gaeumannomyces/image006.jpg
Research on take-all resistance (review):
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tplants.2021.02.009
_G. tritici_ taxonomy:
http://www.indexfungorum.org/Names/NamesRecord.asp?RecordID=816900
Taxonomy and current species list of _Gaeumannomyces_ via:
http://www.indexfungorum.org/Names/Names.asp
- Mod.DHA

ProMED map:
Cork, Munster, Ireland:
https://promedmail.org/promed-post?place=8705472,31831]

[See Also:
2021
----
Take-all, wheat - UK: research
http://promedmail.org/post/20210330.8277006
2015
----
Crown sheath rot, rice - Costa Rica: (GU)
http://promedmail.org/post/20150910.3635557
2008
----
Fungal diseases, wheat, oilseed rape - UK
http://promedmail.org/post/20080930.3083
Fungal diseases, cereals - UK, Ireland: update
http://promedmail.org/post/20080428.1460
2007
----
Take-all, cereal crops - UK http://promedmail.org/post/20070808.2578
2000
----
Take-all disease, wheat - Australia (02)
http://promedmail.org/post/20001021.1822
Take-all disease, wheat - Australia
http://promedmail.org/post/20001017.177]

 

Website: http://www.isid.org

Published: September 9, 2022