Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4 Western Australia, Series 4
Volume 5
Number 10 October, 1964 Article 8
1-1-1964
Take-all disease of wheat Take-all disease of wheat
S C. Chambers
Follow this and additional works at: https://library.dpird.wa.gov.au/journal_agriculture4 Part of the Agronomy and Crop Sciences Commons, and the Plant Pathology Commons
Recommended Citation Recommended Citation
Chambers, S C. (1964) "Take-all disease of wheat," Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4: Vol. 5: No. 10, Article 8.
Available at: https://library.dpird.wa.gov.au/journal_agriculture4/vol5/iss10/8
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TAKE-ALL DISEASE OF WHEAT
By S. C. C H A M B E R S , M . S c , Plant Pathologist
Take-all is the most serious of the several root-rotting diseases of wheat in Western Australia. In the absence of cereal crops, the fungus responsible for take-all survives on the roots of native grasses. Losses can be minimised by adopting cultural methods which reduce the amount of infective material in the soil and which also encourage vigorous growth of the crop.
T A K E - A L L occurs in all wheat districts of Western A u s t r a l i a , but is most serious in the southern coastal areas. A t Esperance, for example, yields of affected crops are markedly reduced and occasionally crops are w r i t t e n o f f as total losses.
The disease is caused by the fungus Ophiobolus graminis.
Symptoms
The most characteristic symptom on wheat is a black incrustation around the stem base inside the sheaths of the lower- most leaves (Fig. 1). Sometimes instead of the encrustment, the stem base has light brown to black spots and streaks or a general brownish-black discoloration.
Roots of affected plants are dark brown to black in colour due to fungal invasion.
Such plants can be pulled up easily from the soil. Outbreaks of take-all usually occur in patches throughout the crop and plants are liable to attack at any stage of growth. Seedlings may be killed out- right, but more frequently they survive only to grow into stunted plants which ripen prematurely. Because of the ten- dency to ripen early, the heads of affected plants stand out as "whiteheads" amongst the still immature, green heads of the remainder of the crop. (Fig. 2.)
"Whiteheads" are usually empty (hence the term take-all) or else contain only small shrivelled grain. However, white- heads should not be regarded as proof that take-all is present, as they may also result from other causes.
Carry-over and Spread
After the crop has been harvested, the Ophiobolus fungus survives for several months on affected wheat stubble and roots in the soil. This period of survival is influenced by soil conditions and tends to be longer in areas where soil fertility has been improved by the establishment of clovers or medics.
Fig. I.—Discoloration of the lower stem caused by Fusarium graminearum (left) Helminthosporium sativum (centre) and
Ophiobolus graminis (right)
Both F. graminearum and H. sativum cause a brown dis- coloration while O. graminis (take-all) generally blackens
the stem base
Symptoms of F. graminearum and H. sativum are often
839
Fig. 2.—A typical "whitehead" amongst the still-immature green heads of the rest of the crop
When a cropped area reverts to pasture, the young roots of susceptible grasses become infected by the fungus when they contact diseased crop residue. By con- tinuation of this process of susceptible but healthy grass roots contacting infected roots and residues, the disease is per- petuated throughout the whole pasture period.
After the new crop is sown, the wheat plants become diseased when their roots contact infected grass residues in the soil.
The take-all fungus can become estab- lished on the roots of a large number of different grasses (Fig. 3). Spear grass (Bromus rigidus) and the barley grasses (Hordeum leporinum and H. hystrix) are considered to be important carriers of the fungus in West Australian pastures. Barley and rye are also suspectible to the take-all fungus in addition to wheat.
Oats is resistant to the wheat-attacking strain of the fungus, but there is an oat- attacking strain present in the coastal region between Williams and Mt. Barker.
Other Fungal Root Diseases
In addition to Ophiobolus graminis, there are several other fungi capable of attack- ing the roots of the wheat plant either individually or in various combinations known as complexes.
In Western Australia the two most im- portant of these fungi are:
• Helminthosporium sativum, which is common in soils of low fertility but tends to become rare following the establishment of clover ley.
• Fusarium graminearum, which shows a marked affinity for the heavier soil types such as the clays of Merredin and Salmon Gums.
Both these fungi cause a brown dis- coloration of the lower stem base and roots (Fig. 1). Affected plants are generally stunted, have poorly developed root sys- tems, and often form whiteheads contain- ing either shrivelled grain or no grain at all.
The symptoms of the two diseases are often indistinguishable, although a crimson discoloration is sometimes present on basal stem tissues affected by the Fusarium fungus.
CONTROL OF TAKE-ALL
As all wheat varieties are susceptible to take-all, control is based on cultural practices which
• reduce the amount of infective material in the soil;
• promote vigorous growth of the crop and so offset adverse effects caused by the fungus.
The following suggestions are based on the results of many experiments which have been carried out at Esperance. The extent to which they may be applied in other districts will depend on crop hus- bandry practices in those areas.
Crop Rotation
The most effective method of control is a rotational system in which a non- susceptible crop is grown immediately after pasture and before the first crop of wheat.
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In practice this approach is limited by the number of alternative crops which are suited to the district. However, at Esperance, take-all has been reduced from 30 per cent, to less than 3 per cent, in the first wheat crop following each of the non-susceptible crops linseed, oats and vetches.
Type of Cereal
Cereals vary in their relative suscepti- bility to take-all, wheat crops generally being more severely affected than barley.
Consequently, barley may be grown in preference to wheat in take-all infested areas. However, barley is a good carrier of the disease and therefore wheat should never follow barley in these areas.
Multiple Cropping
Although rotations with non-susceptible crops are of value in reducing losses in the first wheat crop, the disease is likely to build up again in the second successive wheat crop.
Stubble Burning
In multiple cropping programmes the amount of infective material in the soil can be reduced by burning the stubble from the previous crop.
Although a good stubble burn will destroy the diseased stem bases, it will have little effect upon the fungus estab- lished on the roots. Therefore the meas- ure can only be partially effective and this has been confirmed experimentally at Esperance.
Adequate Fertiliser
Although fertilisers will not control take- all, their generous usage tends to improve plant growth and so counteract the effects of the disease. For example, in an experi- ment at Esperance, the application of nitrogenous fertiliser did not influence the number of tillers affected by take-all.
Nevertheless, tillering was stimulated and there was an increase in the number of apparently healthy tillers.
The beneficial effects of superphosphate in reducing losses from take-all have been known for many years and were first noticed at Merredin in 1931.
Very little information is available on the effects of minor elements. However,
. . .
Fig. 3.—Silver grass, one o f t h e many grass hosts of t a k e - a l l , showing symptoms o f t h e disease. Note t h e blackening
o f t h e roots and stem-base
at Esperance the correction of a copper deficiency significantly reduced the per- centage of a crop affected by take-all.
Seeding Rate and Weed Control
Another method of encouraging crop growth is to reduce plant competition.
This can be achieved by not over-seeding and also by obtaining satisfactory weed control.
The recommended seeding rate for wheat is 40 to 45 lb. per acre, but some growers use a higher rate on inadequately prepared land to suppress weed growth. Experi- mental results have indicated that higher seeding rates increase losses from take-all.
Therefore it is advisable to obtain good weed control by adequate preparation of the seed bed rather than by heavy seeding.
Chemical Control is not Recommended
Several attempts have been made to control take-all by mixing fungicides with the fertilisers and applying to the soil
843
during seeding. Unfortunately none has proved satisfactory and there is no prospect of chemical control in the immediate future.
Fungicidal seed dressings are also of no value in controlling the take-all disease.
This is understandable as the seed dress- ing only provides a limited zone of protec- tion to the plant in the very early stages of growth.
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FURTHER READING
The following references cover some of the recent experiments on the control of take-all in Western Australia:
W.A. Journal of Agriculture—
Vol. 3 (4th series): 299, 521, 719, 801, 950 (1962).
Vol. 4 (4th series): 488 (1963).
Vol. 5 (4th series): 541 (1964).
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