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

目前的研究表明，苗圃是苹果植株感染N.小果园的最佳选择。然而，感染通常是隐蔽的，受感染的植物在种植到田间之前没有表现出任何症状。观察结果表明，症状的发展不同的网站，甚至与植物来源于同一批苗木。目前尚不清楚的是影响这些无症状苗圃植物的疾病发展的物理，环境和生物条件。这些参数包括土壤（例如土壤类型、压实）、降雨（例如缺水、积水、相对湿度）、温度、内生菌组成（例如来自拮抗性内部微生物的竞争）以及生物或有机改良剂（例如丛枝菌根真菌、植物生长促进根瘤菌、黑附球菌、海藻提取物）的添加。此外，我们感兴趣的是来自其他病原体的压力的影响，例如疫霉属。对苹果腐烂病症状的发展。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物，包括种植条件、水量调度以及对苗木使用的改良剂，以减少田间病害的发生。该提案与正在进行的BBSRC LINK项目（苹果内生菌与溃疡病发展的关系）密切相关，因此预计将与BBSRC项目产生协同作用。多光谱图像是在整个电磁光谱的特定波长范围内捕获图像数据的图像。波长可以通过滤波器或通过使用对特定波长敏感的仪器来分离，包括来自可见光范围之外的频率的光，即红外线和紫外线。光谱成像可以允许提取人眼无法用其红色、绿色和蓝色受体捕获的附加信息。可以开发多光谱成像技术，以建立早期预警系统，用于检测苹果树溃疡病。

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.