Investigating biotic and abiotic conditions impacting apple canker symptom development of nursery plants with latent infection

目前的研究表明，苗圃是幼龄果园苹果白粉病侵染的关键部位。然而，感染通常是隐蔽的，受感染的植物在种植到田间后才会显示出任何症状。观察表明，症状的发展因地点而异，即使植物来自同一批苗木也是如此。目前尚不清楚的是影响这些无症状苗圃植物疾病发展的物理、环境和生物条件。这些参数包括土壤(例如土壤类型、紧实度)、降雨量(例如水分亏缺、内涝、相对湿度)、温度、内生菌组成(例如来自内部拮抗微生物的竞争)，以及添加生物或有机改良剂(例如丛枝菌根真菌、促进根瘤菌生长的植物、黑麦草、海藻提取物)。此外，我们对来自其他病原体如疫霉的压力的影响也很感兴趣。关于苹果溃烂病症状的发展。这项工作的结果将使苗圃和种植者能够在田间种植之前和之后更好地管理苹果植株，包括种植条件、水分调度和苗木使用的修正，以减少田间病害的发生。这项提议与正在进行的BBSRC链接项目(与溃烂发展有关的苹果内生植物)密切相关，因此有望与BBSRC项目产生协同效应。多光谱图像是指在整个电磁频谱中捕获特定波长范围内的图像数据的图像。这些波长可以通过滤光片或使用对特定波长敏感的仪器进行分离，包括来自可见光范围以外的频率的光，即红外和紫外线。光谱成像可以提取人眼无法通过其红色、绿色和蓝色感受器捕捉到的额外信息。可以开发多光谱成像技术来创建早期预警系统，以检测苹果树的溃烂病。

Current research indicates that nurseries are key sites for infection of apple plants by N. ditissima for young orchards. However, the infection is often cryptic, with infected plants showing no symptoms until after they are planted out into the field. Observations suggest symptom development differs from site to site, even with plants sourced from the same batch of nursery stock. What is currently unknown are the physical, environmental, and biological conditions which affect the development of the disease from these asymptomatic nursery plants. These parameters include soil (e.g. soil type, compaction), rainfall (e.g. water deficit, water logging, relative humidity), temperature, endophyte composition (e.g. competition from antagonistic internal microbes), and the addition of biological or organic amendments (e.g. Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi, Plant Growth Promoting Rhizobia, Epicoccum nigrum, seaweed extracts). In addition, we are interested in the effect of pressure from other pathogens e.g. Phytophthora spp. on the development of apple canker symptoms. The results of this work will enable nurseries and growers to better manage apple plants both before and after field planting including the conditions in which to plant, water scheduling, and amendments to use on nursery stock to reduce incidence of the disease in the field. This proposal is closely aligned with an ongoing BBSRC LINK project (apple endophytes in relation to canker development) and thus expected to have synergy with the BBSRC project. A multispectral image is one that captures image data within specific wavelength ranges across the electromagnetic spectrum. The wavelengths may be separated by filters or by the use of instruments that are sensitive to particular wavelengths, including light from frequencies beyond the visible light range, i.e. infrared and ultra-violet. Spectral imaging can allow extraction of additional information the human eye fails to capture with its receptors for red, green and blue. Multispectral Imaging techniques could be developed to create earlier warning systems for the detection of canker in apple trees.