Degree Type
Dissertation
Date of Award
2005
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy
Department
Plant Pathology and Microbiology
First Advisor
Mark Gleason
Abstract
Sooty blotch and flyspeck (SBFS) fungi blemish the cuticle of apples. Previous studies reported that the SBFS complex is comprised of four species. This is study surveyed the SBFS complex from nine orchards in four Midwestern states (USA). The LSU analyses of the rDNA inferred that 30 species were Dothideomycetes; one species was within the Pleosporales, 27 were within Dothideales, and two species could not be placed at the ordinal level. The LSU sequences of 17 Dothideales species clustered with LSU sequences of known species of Mycosphaerella. Post-harvest dips in commercial disinfestants were used to remove SBFS signs. Apples were dipped for 7 or 15 min in various concentrations of sodium hypochlorite, hydrogen peroxide and peroxyacetic acid mixtures, or soap, then brushed and rinsed on a grading line. A 7-min dip in 800 ppm chlorine resulted in an increase from 25% and 55% to 100% "Extra Fancy" grade for 'Jonathan' and 'Golden Delicious' apples, respectively, and increased market value by 31 and 14%, respectively. Blemishes were removed more effectively from 'Jonathan' and 'Macintosh' apples than from 'Golden Delicious'. SBFS fungi were removed differentially by the dip treatments. Leaf wetness duration (LWD) was measured within apple tree canopies in four Iowa orchards. Variability of LWD and the timing of dew onset and dry-off were characterized for twelve positions in the canopy of trees. The upper and eastern portion of the canopy was the first to form dew and the last to dry. The lower, western portion of the canopy usually averaged about 2 hours of LWD per day less than the top of the canopy, and was the last zone where dew formed and the first to dry off. When LWD were input to a warning system for the SBFS complex, timing of fungicide-spray thresholds varied by as much as 30 days among canopy positions.
DOI
https://doi.org/10.31274/rtd-180813-12083
Publisher
Digital Repository @ Iowa State University, http://lib.dr.iastate.edu
Copyright Owner
Jean Carlson Batzer
Copyright Date
2005
Language
en
Proquest ID
AAI3172200
File Format
application/pdf
File Size
157 pages
Recommended Citation
Batzer, Jean Carlson, "Sooty blotch and flyspeck on apple: expansion of the fungal complex, post-harvest removal and heterogeneity of apple canopy wetness and its impact on the outcome of a disease-warning system " (2005). Retrospective Theses and Dissertations. 1225.
https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/rtd/1225
Included in
Agricultural Science Commons, Agriculture Commons, Agronomy and Crop Sciences Commons, Molecular Biology Commons, Plant Pathology Commons
