Poster Session North American Pulse Improvement Association (NAPIA) October 31 - November 2, 2007 Meeting Madison, Wisconsin, U.S.A.

Pisum Genetics

2007—Volume 39

NAPIA Posters

Poster Session

North American Pulse Improvement Association (NAPIA)
October 31 — November 2, 2007 Meeting
Madison, Wisconsin, U.S.A.

Microsphaera trifolii:
Causing powdery mildew of peas in a greenhouse environment

Attanayake, K.P.R.N.,¹* Dugan, F.M.,² ¹Washington State Univ., Pullman, WA, U.S.A.

Glawe, D.,¹ McPhee, K.E.² and Chen, W.² ²USDA-ARS, Pullman, WA, U.S.A.

*Student presenter (rattanayake@wsu.edu)

In the past some pea breeding lines performed inconsistently in terms of resistance to powdery mildew in the
greenhouse and under field production conditions. We compared powdery mildew populations collected from the
greenhouse and production fields on the basis of morphology and DNA sequences. Isolates displayed small
morphological differences. ITS sequences of greenhouse isolates from 2005, 2006 and 2007 showed maximum
similarity to those of Microsphaera trifolii, while sequences from the greenhouse 2004 isolate and field isolates
from 2006 and 2007 were most similar to Erysiphe pisi. Results suggest that Microsphaera trifolii can parasitize
peas under greenhouse conditions. The precise roles of these two powdery mildew species in causing disease under
greenhouse versus field production conditions remain to be determined. These findings help explain the variable
results of previous assessments of pea breeding lines and indicate that efforts to breed resistant pea varieties for
the Palouse region of eastern Washington and northern Idaho should take into account the presence of both
powdery mildew pathogens.

Soil coring approach for study of crop root systems

Liu, L.P.,^1, ²* Y.T. Gan,² and ¹Dept. of Plant Sci., Univ. of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada

Bueckert, R.A.¹ ²Agri. and Agri-Food Canada, Swift Current, SK, Canada

*Presenter (lil243@mail.usask.ca)

Experiments were conducted at the Semiarid Prairie Agricultural Research Centre, Swift Current, SK, to
determine root morphologies and their distribution patterns during the growing season and at the various depths
of soil profile. Soil coring approach was employed where a hydraulic system was equipped with a heavy-duty
grader. Metal cylinders (15.25cm X120cm) were pushed into the soil with minimum disturbance to soil physical
properties, and the soil-root matrix was cored for the analyses of root and soil properties.

Effects of Penicillium bilaii on rooting patterns of pulse crops

Liu, L.P.,^1, ²* Gan, Y.T.² and Bueckert, R.A.¹¹Dept. of Plant Sci., Univ. of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada
*Presenter (lil243@mail.usask.ca) ²Agric. and Agri-Food Canada, Swift Current, SK, Canada

Penicillium bilaii Chala. has been shown to increase inorganic P uptake, dry matter accumulation, and yield
in several crops, but little is known about the possible mechanisms responsible for the enhanced productivity in
pulse crops. Experiments were conducted at Swift Current, SK, to determine the effects of Penicillium bilaii on

Pisum Genetics

2007—Volume 39

NAPIA Posters

root growth and tipping characteristics of three pulse crops (lentil, chickpea and field pea) under Saskatchewan
growing conditions. Preliminary results indicate that the number of root tips was significantly increased for all
three pulse crops due to inoculation of Penicillium bilaii.

Comparisons of root morphology among
alternative crops and cereal crop in different water regimes

Liu, L.P.,^1, ²* Gan, Y.T. , and Bueckert, R.A.¹ ¹Dept. of Plant Sci., Univ. of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK,
Canada

*Presenter (lil243@mail.usask.ca) ²Agric. and Agri-Food Canada, Swift Current, SK, Canada

Benefits from pulse and oilseed crops in rotation with cereal crops have been widely recognized in North
America, but little is known about the contribution of rooting systems of non-cereal crops to the increased
rotational benefits. Experiments were conducted at Swift Current, SK, to determine root morphologies of pulses,
oilseeds, and cereal crops under different water conditions (rain-feed vs. rain-feed + irrigation) at various growth
stages. Win RHIZO STD 1600+ scanner and associated software "Win RHIZO" (Regent Instruments Inc.) were
used to analyze root samples and produce various outputs of root parameters (root diameter, root length, root
volume, tips, etc).

Relationship between chlorophyll fluorescence
and higher productivity under drought stress in chickpea

Rehman, A.,¹* Warkentin, T.D.,¹ ¹Dept. of Plant Sci./Crop Dev. Center

Malhotra, R.S.² and Bueckert, R.¹ Univ. of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada

*Presenter (aziz.rehman@usask.ca) ²Intl. Center for Agri. Res. in the Dry Areas (ICARDA), Aleppo, Syria

Chlorophyll fluorescence has been used for many years for monitoring photosynthetic performance in plants.
Its role for screening plants for stress tolerance is also suggested by some researchers. About 155 recombinant
inbred lines derived from a cross between drought tolerant and susceptible genotypes of chickpea were screened
for chlorophyll fluorescence and chlorophyll content under drought conditions in the field in Syria.

Towards mapping lentil resistance to rust, stemphylium and sclerotinia stem rot

Saha, G.C.,¹* Sarker, A.,² ¹Grain Legume and Physiol. Unit, USDA, Washington State Univ., WA, U.S.A.
Chen, W.,¹ and Muehlbauer, F.J.¹ ²ICARDA, Aleppo, Syria.

*Presenter (gopesh_saha@wsu.edu)

In order to map lentil resistance to rust (Uromyces fabae), stemphylium blight (Stemphylium botryosum) and
sclerotinia white mold (Sclerotinia sclerotiorum), three lentil recombinant inbred line (LRIL) populations (LRIL
21, 22 and 45) were developed and progressed up to F7 generation through single seed decent. Phenotyping of rust
and stemphylium blight were performed in Bangladesh. Three inoculation techniques were compared for
sclerotinia white mold screening and the mycelial plug method in mist chamber was found suitable for screen-ing
inbred lines. For genotyping, isozymes and four types of molecular markers (PSMPS, SSR, RFLP and gene
specific markers) were applied to the LRIL populations. The phenotypic and genotypic data will be presented.

Pisum Genetics

2007—Volume 39

NAPIA Posters

Selenium-enriched red lentils as a possible
whole-food solution for improved human health

Thavarajah, D.,¹ Pickering, I.,² ¹Crop Dev. Center, College of Agri. and ² Dept. of Geol. Sci.

George, G.,² Ruszkowski, J.² and Vandenberg, A.¹* Univ. of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada

*Presenter (vandenberg@usask.ca)

Lentils are a source of many essential dietary components and trace elements for human health. We found
that western Canadian soils are rich in selenium and that lentils grown in Saskatchewan have the potential to be
marketed as a natural source of this essential element. Here we present data on selenium concentrations and
chemical species of different lentil growing soils of Saskatchewan. We also present data on the bioavailable forms
of selenium in the embryo, cotyledon and seed coat of the red lentil cultivar CDC Robin grown in Saskatoon,
Saskatchewan, and show them to be an excellent source of selenium.

Application of a detached leaf assay to evaluate resistance
to Phoma medicaginis var. pinodella in pea (Pisum sativum L.)

Xin Wang¹ and ¹Crop and Soil Sci. Dept. and ²USDA-ARS

Kevin McPhee²* Washington State Univ., Pullman, WA, U.S.A.

*Presenter (kmcphee@wsu.edu)

Phoma medicaginis var. pinodella contributes to the Ascochyta blight complex of pea. Fall-sown peas are
exposed to cool moist conditions in the spring which are favorable for development of the disease. Thirty-five
registered cultivars, and breeding lines were evaluated for disease development based on a detached leaf assay.
Significant differences in lesion expansion were observed and ranged from 2.6 to 173.1 mm² 9 days after
inoculation. These results indicate that genetic resistance can be exploited in breeding programs and identifies
mapping populations which can be used to validate and expand our knowledge of published QTL for resistance.