16AGRITECHCAT5: Integrating Control strategies Against soil-borne Rhizoctonia solani in OilSeed rape (ICAROS)

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Increased oilseed rape (Brassica napus, OSR) cropping frequency and incidence of soil-borne diseases have been recently identified as major threats and contributory causes to the current 'yield plateau' in UK OSR crops. Rhizoctonia solani, anastomosis group (AG) 2-1 is strongly associated with the presence of its main host, OSR, and the pathogen is implicated in the yield decline of the crop grown with increased frequency in the rotation. Severe damping off disease caused by AG2-1 has been shown to significantly impact on several root system architecture traits of OSR. The epidemiology and control of AG2-1 and Rhizoctonia diseases in UK OSR crops have not previously been investigated. The aim of this project is to develop new integrative strategies for disease control through work packages designed to i) identify resistance/tolerance traits and novel resistance loci which can be utilised in crop breeding; ii) elucidate disease epidemiology in relation to soil environment and host; iii) quantify yield losses due to damping off diseases caused by R. solani and iv) develop methods for control using varietal resistance and seed treatment for improved disease management and yield of OSR. This project will develop a high-throughput disease screen for phenotyping a range of Brassica napus lines, including conventional varieties, hybrids, diversity sets and mapping populations to identify novel loci for resistance against R. solani. Future strategies for effective disease management will be established through multidisciplinary studies integrating disease modelling, computed tomography and molecular biology to determine the epidemiology of R. solani in relation to its host and the environment, quantify yield losses and determine responses to seed treatment for Rhizoctonia disease. A major output at completion will be integrated guidelines incorporating novel seed treatments and varietal resistance/tolerance for improved disease management and protection of OSR yield.