Efficacy of Stb resistance genes and pathotype diversity in Zymoseptoria tritici from Ethiopia.

Zymoseptoria tritici, the causal agent of Septoria tritici blotch (STB) in bread wheat (Triticum aestivum), leads to significant global yield losses. Resistance breeding is vital for managing STB, but there is limited information on Z. tritici infection behaviour in Ethiopia.

Harnessing novel genetic markers for scald resistance from gene bank spring barley genotypes.

Background: Scald caused by Rhynchosporium graminicola is a common foliar disease affecting barley production worldwide. Identifying and utilizing scald resistance genes and quantitative trait loci (QTL) to develop barley cultivars with durable and effective resistance to scald is crucial.

Results: In the present study, we evaluated 275 spring barley genotypes together with 4 commercial check cultivars under controlled conditions and examined the underlying genetics of scald resistance in these genotypes.

GBLUP Outperforms Quantile Mapping and Outlier Detection for Enhanced Genomic Prediction.

Genomic selection (GS) accelerates plant breeding by predicting complex traits using genomic data. This study compares genomic best linear unbiased prediction (GBLUP), quantile mapping (QM)-an adjustment to GBLUP predictions-and four outlier detection methods. Using 14 real datasets, predictive accuracy was evaluated with Pearson's correlation (COR) and normalized root mean square error (NRMSE).

Plant genotype-specific modulation of Clonostachys rosea-mediated biocontrol of septoria tritici blotch disease in wheat.

Background: Beneficial microorganisms can act as biological control agents (BCAs) directly by targeting pathogens or indirectly by enhancing the plant's defense mechanisms against pathogens. However, efficiencies with which plants benefit from BCAs vary, potentially because of genetic variation in plants for plant-BCA compatibility. The aim of this study was to explore the genetic variation in winter wheat for modulation of Clonostachys rosea-mediated biocontrol of septoria tritici blotch disease caused by the fungal pathogen Zymoseptoria tritici.

A Novel Quantitative Trait Locus on Chromosome 7D Derived from Confers Moderate Field Resistance to Wheat Blast.

Wheat blast is a devastating disease in the tropical and subtropical regions of South America and has recently spread to Bangladesh and Zambia. Host resistance to this disease has primarily relied on the 2NS/2AS translocation, making it crucial to identify and utilize novel sources of resistance. In the current study, a recombinant inbred line population consisting of 345 BCF progenies was generated, using the susceptible wheat genotype 'Gladius' as the female and recurrent parent and the resistant line 'KU-2097' as the male parent.

The impact of spray-induced gene silencing on cereal phyllosphere microbiota.

Background: Fusarium head blight (FHB) is a major disease affecting cereal crops including wheat, barley, rye, oats and maize. Its predominant causal agent is the ascomycete fungus Fusarium graminearum, which infects the spikes and thereby reduces grain yield and quality. The frequency and severity of FHB epidemics has increased in recent years, threatening global food security.

Alien introgression to wheat for food security: functional and nutritional quality for novel products under climate change.

Crop yield and quality has increased globally during recent decades due to plant breeding, resulting in improved food security. However, climate change and shifts in human dietary habits and preferences display novel pressure on crop production to deliver enough quantity and quality to secure food for future generations. This review paper describes the current state-of-the-art and presents innovative approaches related to alien introgressions into wheat, focusing on aspects related to quality, functional characteristics, nutritional attributes, and development of novel food products.

A new bacterial consortia for management of Fusarium head blight in wheat.

Fusarium head blight (FHB) is a significantly important disease in cereals primarily caused by Fusarium species. FHB control is largely executed through chemical strategies, which are costlier to sustainable wheat production, resulting in leaning towards sustainable sources such as resistance breeding and biological control methods for FHB. The present investigation was aimed at evaluating newly identified bacterial consortium (BCM) as biocontrol agents for FHB and understanding the morpho-physiological traits associated with the disease resistance of spring wheat.

Unveiling the microwave heating performance of biochar as microwave absorber for microwave-assisted pyrolysis technology.

Microwave (MW) heating has gained significant attention in food industries and biomass-to-biofuels through pyrolysis over conventional heating. However, constraints for promoting MW heating related to the use of different MW absorbers are still a major concern that needs to be investigated. The present study was conducted to explore the MW heating performance of biochar as a low-cost MW absorber for performing pyrolysis.

The Combination of Low-Cost, Red-Green-Blue (RGB) Image Analysis and Machine Learning to Screen for Barley Plant Resistance to Net Blotch.

Challenges of climate change and growth population are exacerbated by noticeable environmental changes, which can increase the range of plant diseases, for instance, net blotch (NB), a foliar disease which significantly decreases barley ( L.) grain yield and quality. A resistant germplasm is usually identified through visual observation and the scoring of disease symptoms; however, this is subjective and time-consuming.

Genomic selection in plant breeding: Key factors shaping two decades of progress.

Genomic selection, the application of genomic prediction (GP) models to select candidate individuals, has significantly advanced in the past two decades, effectively accelerating genetic gains in plant breeding. This article provides a holistic overview of key factors that have influenced GP in plant breeding during this period. We delved into the pivotal roles of training population size and genetic diversity, and their relationship with the breeding population, in determining GP accuracy.

Chasing high and stable wheat grain mineral content: Mining diverse spring genotypes under induced drought stress.

Climate change-induced drought has an effect on the nutritional quality of wheat. Here, the impact of drought at different plant stages on mineral content in mature wheat was evaluated in 30 spring-wheat lines of diverse backgrounds (modern, old and wheat-rye-introgressions). Genotypes with rye chromosome 3R introgression showed a high accumulation of several important minerals, including Zn and Fe, and these also showed stability across drought conditions.

ScabyNet, a user-friendly application for detecting common scab in potato tubers using deep learning and morphological traits.

Common scab (CS) is a major bacterial disease causing lesions on potato tubers, degrading their appearance and reducing their market value. To accurately grade scab-infected potato tubers, this study introduces "ScabyNet", an image processing approach combining color-morphology analysis with deep learning techniques. ScabyNet estimates tuber quality traits and accurately detects and quantifies CS severity levels from color images.

Genome-Wide Association Analysis of Freezing Tolerance and Winter Hardiness in Winter Wheat of Nordic Origin.

Climate change and global food security efforts are driving the need for adaptable crops in higher latitude temperate regions. To achieve this, traits linked with winter hardiness must be introduced in winter-type crops. Here, we evaluated the freezing tolerance (FT) of a panel of 160 winter wheat genotypes of Nordic origin under controlled conditions and compared the data with the winter hardiness of 74 of these genotypes from a total of five field trials at two locations in Norway.

Exploring GWAS and genomic prediction to improve Septoria tritici blotch resistance in wheat.

Septoria tritici blotch (STB) is a destructive foliar diseases threatening wheat grain yield. Wheat breeding for STB disease resistance has been identified as the most sustainable and environment-friendly approach. In this work, a panel of 316 winter wheat breeding lines from a commercial breeding program were evaluated for STB resistance at the seedling stage under controlled conditions followed by genome-wide association study (GWAS) and genomic prediction (GP).

Impacts of heat, drought, and combined heat-drought stress on yield, phenotypic traits, and gluten protein traits: capturing stability of spring wheat in excessive environments.

Wheat production and end-use quality are severely threatened by drought and heat stresses. This study evaluated stress impacts on phenotypic and gluten protein characteristics of eight spring wheat genotypes (Diskett, Happy, Bumble, SW1, SW2, SW3, SW4, and SW5) grown to maturity under controlled conditions (Biotron) using RGB imaging and size-exclusion high-performance liquid chromatography (SE-HPLC). Among the stress treatments compared, combined heat-drought stress had the most severe negative impacts on biomass (real and digital), grain yield, and thousand kernel weight.

Genotype and environment interaction study shows fungal diseases and heat stress are detrimental to spring wheat production in Sweden.

Spring wheat is an economically important crop for Scandinavia and its cultivation is likely to be affected by climate change. The current study focused on wheat yield in recent years, during which climate change-related yield fluctuations have been more pronounced than previously observed. Here, effects of the environment, together with the genotype and fungicide treatment was evaluated.

Haplotype-tagged SNPs improve genomic prediction accuracy for Fusarium head blight resistance and yield-related traits in wheat.

Linkage disequilibrium (LD)-based haplotyping with subsequent SNP tagging improved the genomic prediction accuracy up to 0.07 and 0.092 for Fusarium head blight resistance and spike width, respectively, across six different models.

Delineation of Genotype X Environment Interaction for Grain Yield in Spring Barley under Untreated and Fungicide-Treated Environments.

Barley ( L.) is the fourth most important cereal crop based on production and cultivated area. Biotic stresses, especially fungal diseases in barley, are devastating, incurring high possibilities of absolute yield loss.