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Establishment of a harmonised method for testing resistance of rye to ergot (Claviceps purpurea) and to minimize alkaloid contamination
Project
Project code: JKI-A-08-1260
Contract period: 01.01.2018
- 31.12.2019
Purpose of research: Applied research
Ergot, caused by the fungus Claviceps purpurea, is a severe disease in rye (Secale cereale L.) leading to purplish-black sclerotia in the ear that contain 30 ergot alkaloids. Because of their toxicity, EU maximum levels for ergot exist on the basis of percentage of sclerotia in the grain. However, rye lots with ergot also contain alkaloid-contaminated dust that can only be measured by chemical analysis. Rye is grown in the EU on 2.1 million hectares, more than 80% in Germany, Poland, and Austria. Agronomic practices and cultivar resistance are the only measures for reducing ergot infection. The overall goal is to evaluate a harmonized method for testing resistance of rye to ergot and to analyze the amount of alkaloids as affected by location, year, country and fungal isolate. Specific innovation targets of this project are to analyze (1) ergot resistance across Germany, Poland, and Austria in a standardized field design, (2) the effect of isolates from these countries, (3) the relative importance of factors affecting ergot infections, (4) the variation of ergot alkaloids across sites/year/countries, (5) and use an ELISA test method for determing the total alkaloid content.
Section overview
Subjects
- Plant Breeding
- Crop Protection
- Biotechnology
- Toxicology
Framework programme
Excutive institution
Institute for Plant Protection in Field Crops and Grassland (JKI-A)
