Effect of High Temperatures on the Growth and Disease Development of <i>Erysiphe quercicola</i> on Rubber Trees

Powdery mildew is a serious disease of the rubber tree (<i>Hevea brasiliensis</i>) worldwide. Temperature is the main climatic factor that influences the development of this disease. In this study, the effects of five high temperatures (30, 32, 34, 36, and 38 °C) at each of six exposure...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Yongxiang He, Ying Xiao, Jonathan S. West, Xueren Cao
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-04-01
Series:Agronomy
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4395/15/5/1046
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Powdery mildew is a serious disease of the rubber tree (<i>Hevea brasiliensis</i>) worldwide. Temperature is the main climatic factor that influences the development of this disease. In this study, the effects of five high temperatures (30, 32, 34, 36, and 38 °C) at each of six exposure durations (0.5, 1, 3, 6, 12, and 24 h) were measured for the pathogen at 0, 3, 12, and 48 h post-inoculation (hpi), which represented four life stages of the fungus (conidia, conidial germination, infection, and hyphal growth). The results indicated that the germination, infection, and disease severity were reduced with increasing temperature and exposure duration. Temperature and exposure duration also significantly interacted to affect all life stages (<i>p</i> < 0.001). The relationships of the inhibition rate of conidial germination, infection, and disease severity with duration of exposure time (<i>et</i>) and high temperature (<i>T</i>) were described by logistic equations, with the percentage variance accounted for above 68%. Ungerminated conidia were found to be the most resistant to high temperature for <i>E. quercicola</i> from rubber tree, out of the four stages tested in this study. Only controlled-environmental experiments were conducted, and field studies are needed to enhance disease forecasting of rubber tree powdery mildew.
ISSN:2073-4395