USA, Lexington Kentucky - July 13th, 2007 (Joe Omielan) - Project Update
Soybean rust spores did not arrive in Central Kentucky until the end of the growing season but we were able to work with the disease in growth chambers during the winter months. The purpose of the study was to measure the impact of Soybean Rust on leaf photosynthetic rates. The following photos illustrate some of the procedures. The assistance of plant pathologists Drs. Brenda Kennedy and Don Hershman was invaluable.
We obtained seeds of two recombinant inbred lines from Dr. Roger Boerma (University of Georgia) which differed in their resistance to SBR. One was susceptible and formed tan sporulating lesions while the other was resistant forming red brown lesions.
A cyclone spore collector was used to harvest spores from sporulating lesions on our “source” plants.
Brenda and Don are quantifying spore concentrations in our suspensions.
Elena is tagging the individual plants in the walk-in growth chamber before inoculation.
Department of Plant and Soil Sciences, University of Kentucky 