Contact : Jane Thomas
Ditylenchus dipsaci is a free-living plant parasitic nematode that is commonly found in most arable farming areas of the UK and is capable of causing yield reductions in many crops. Two principle races have been designated, the tetraploid “giant” race which only affects faba bean crops and the “oat-onion”. Hosts of the latter race include field bean, oats, potato, sugar beet as well as most field vegetable crops and over 400 alternative hosts have been identified including many common arable weeds. The distribution and relative abundance of these two races will be established using race specific primers previously developed at NIAB. The reaction of faba bean germplasm to giant and oat onion races will be investigated in order to determine potential for resistance breeding in UK adapted material.
Funding: Chadacre Agricultural Trust, John Oldacre Foundation, Perry Foundation, PGRO
Collaborating Organizations: None