Progress 10/01/12 to 09/30/13
Outputs
Progress Report Objectives (from AD-416): The goal of this project is threefold: (1) to find new sources of Sclerotinia head rot resistance in cultivated sunflower germplasm; (2) and to transfer Sclerotinia stalk and head ot resistance by conventional breeding and marker-assisted selection (MAS) into elite USDA sunflower germplasm for release to the public. Specifically, the project will (1) evaluate new cultivated sunflower accessions of the USDA Plant Introduction Station�s seed collection for resistance to head rot; (2) use the phenotype data for head rot and stalk rot in association mapping; and (3) cross new sources of Sclerotinia resistance into elite oilseed and confection USDA germplasm. Approach (from AD-416): To increase the genetic diversity of Sclerotinia resistance within the USDA breeding program, we will evaluate both the newest USDA Plant Introductions (which have not been tested for disease resistance) and seek new germplasm via exchanges with foreign public breeding programs. This evaluation needs to be done at research sites having irrigation facilities and Central Lakes College is one of the closest such university sites. Once new sources of stalk head rot resistance are identified, we will determine with the aid of MAS whether these contain new genes. Once resistance sources are identified, they will be crossed into either elite oilseed or confection lines. Central Lakes College (CLC) in Staples, MN, has one of only two public ag research facilities with irrigation potential within a convenient drive of Fargo (120 miles), and irrigation is crucial for artificial inoculations to induce Sclerotinia head rot of sunflower. We have had five years of successful collaboration with the personnel at CLC, and they are thus experienced with assisting us both with cultivated sunflower and with wild Helianthus. In 2012, we had 1,500 rows of unit breeding material, plus cultivated sunflower from the Ames, IA �USDA Plant Introduction Station� which were evaluated for resistance to Sclerotinia head rot. Due to the wide range of flowering times of this material, there were six separate inoculations over a three-week period. The data collected from the 2012 was the culmination of two years of head rot trials on 250 Plant Introductions, and this data is currently being used in association mapping to identify Quantitative Trait Loci (QTLs) associated with both head and stalk rot. Our involvement with the CLC Ag Center will continue into the future, not only for Sclerotinia research, but also on other sunflower diseases such as Phomopsis stem canker and rust, both of which benefit from mist irrigation.
Impacts
(N/A)
Publications
|
|