High Resolution Imaging of Rhizochtonia Solani Infestation of Wheat Roots.

 

Rhizoctonia solani can have substantial negative impacts on wheat yields. A better understanding of the development of Rhizochtonia symptoms and the root architecture responses to infection would enable breeding programs to more accurately focus on selecting for resistance traits. High resolution in-situ Images of Rhizchtonia infecting three different varieties of wheat grown in Rhizochtonia infested soils were collected every 4hrs for 21 days. The root systems architectures were analyzed and compared for the wheat varieties growing in inoculated and un-inoculated soil. Symptoms of Rhizoctonia infection such as lesion development and spear tipping were also quantified and the development in time and space of the symptoms was compared between wheat varieties.