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** AWARDS ISSUED PRIOR TO JANUARY 20, 2025, WERE FUNDED UNDER PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATIONS AND MAY NOT REFLECT THE PRIORITIES AND POLICIES OF THE CURRENT ADMINISTRATION.** RHUBARB IS AN EMERGING PERENNIAL CROP FOR MANY SMALL FARMS IN THE NORTHEAST US. IN THIS REGION, GROWERS ARE ENTHUSIASTIC ABOUT INCREASING RHUBARB ACREAGE. THEY HIGHLIGHT ITS CONTRIBUTIONS TO EARLY SEASON INCOME AS RHUBARB IS HARVESTED BEFORE MANY OTHER FRUITS AND VEGETABLES REACH MATURITY. MANY GROWERS HAVE SOUGHT RECOMMENDATIONS ON CULTURAL AND DISEASE MANAGEMENT PRACTICES TO SUPPORT LOCAL RHUBARB PRODUCTION. IN THE NORTHEAST US, RHUBARB IS COMMONLY AFFECTED BY A LEAF SPOT DISEASE CAUSED BY THE FUNGAL PATHOGEN DIDYMELLA RHEI. THE PATHOGEN PRODUCES LESIONS ON BOTH LEAVES AND STALKS, WHICH CAN RENDER STALKS UNMARKETABLE. UNFORTUNATELY, LITTLE ELSE IS KNOWN ABOUT THE BIOLOGY AND EPIDEMIOLOGY OF THE DISEASE. UNDERSTANDING THE LIFE CYCLE AND HOST INTERACTIONS OF D. RHEI IS ESSENTIAL TO DEVELOP EFFECTIVE DISEASE MANAGEMENT RECOMMENDATIONS. THIS RESEARCH AIMS TO ADVANCE RHUBARB PRODUCTION IN THE NORTHEAST US BY EXPANDING OUR KNOWLEDGE OF PATHOGEN BIOLOGY. TO THIS END, WE HAVE FOUR OBJECTIVES: 1) DESCRIBE THE POPULATION STRUCTURE, 2) DETERMINE IF SEXUAL REPRODUCTION IS POSSIBLE, 3) CLARIFY THE HOST RANGE, AND 4) IDENTIFY POTENTIAL SOURCES OF RESISTANCE. TO ADDRESS THE FIRST OBJECTIVE, WE HAVE COLLECTED OVER 200 D. RHEI ISOLATES ACROSS NEW YORK STATE (NYS). ALL ISOLATES WILL BE GENOTYPED TO DETERMINE IF GENETICALLY UNIQUE INDIVIDUALS ARE PRESENT IN SEVERAL REGIONS AND OVER MULTIPLE YEARS. TO ADDRESS THE SECOND OBJECTIVE, ALL ISOLATES COLLECTED FOR THE FIRST OBJECTIVE WILL BE SCREENED FOR THE PRESENCE OF ONE OF TWO POSSIBLE MATING TYPE (MAT) IDIOMORPHS. IF BOTH ARE PRESENT WITHIN A POPULATION, SEXUAL REPRODUCTION IS POSSIBLE. ISOLATES WITH OPPOSITE MAT IDIOMORPHS AND KNOWN GENOTYPES WILL BE COINOCULATED ON FIELD-PLANTED RHUBARB IN EARLY SUMMER. THE FOLLOWING SPRING, ISOLATES WILL BE COLLECTED FROM EMERGING PLANTS AND GENOTYPED TO DETERMINE IF THEY ARE GENETIC RECOMBINANTS. TO ADDRESS THE THIRD OBJECTIVE, WE WILL SCREEN A PANEL OF CLOSE AND DISTANT RHUBARB RELATIVES FOR SUSCEPTIBILITY TO D. RHEI WITH ARTIFICIAL INOCULATIONS. TO ADDRESS THE FINAL OBJECTIVE, WE WILL SCREEN A SET OF COMMERCIALLY AVAILABLE RHUBARB CULTIVARS FOR DIFFERENCES IN SUSCEPTIBILITY TO D. RHEI WITH ARTIFICIAL INOCULATIONS. THE RESULTS OF THESE PROJECTS WILL ANSWER GROWERS' QUESTIONS ABOUT THE DIVERSITY OF D. RHEI IN NYS, IF GENETIC RECOMBINATION WILL POSE FUTURE DIFFICULTIES IN MANAGING DISEASE, THE HOSTS ON WHICH D. RHEI COULD PERSIST, AND WHICH CULTIVARS CAN BE GROWN TO REDUCE DISEASE. TOGETHER, EACH OBJECTIVE CONTRIBUTES TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF MORE SUSTAINABLE MANAGEMENT OF RHUBARB LEAF SPOT AND THE ADVANCEMENT OF AN EMERGING CROP.

$180,000FY2024National Institute of Food and AgricultureUSDA

Cornell University, Ithaca NY

Investigators

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** AWARDS ISSUED PRIOR TO JANUARY 20, 2025, WERE FUNDED UNDER PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATIONS AND MAY NOT REFLECT THE PRIORITIES AND POLICIES OF THE CURRENT ADMINISTRATION.** RHUBARB IS AN EMERGING PERENNIAL CROP FOR MANY SMALL FARMS IN THE NORTHEAST US. IN THIS REGION, GROWERS ARE ENTHUSIASTIC ABOUT INCREASING RHUBARB ACREAGE. THEY HIGHLIGHT ITS CONTRIBUTIONS TO EARLY SEASON INCOME AS RHUBARB IS HARVESTED BEFORE MANY OTHER FRUITS AND VEGETABLES REACH MATURITY. MANY GROWERS HAVE SOUGHT RECOMMENDATIONS ON CULTURAL AND DISEASE MANAGEMENT PRACTICES TO SUPPORT LOCAL RHUBARB PRODUCTION. IN THE NORTHEAST US, RHUBARB IS COMMONLY AFFECTED BY A LEAF SPOT DISEASE CAUSED BY THE FUNGAL PATHOGEN DIDYMELLA RHEI. THE PATHOGEN PRODUCES LESIONS ON BOTH LEAVES AND STALKS, WHICH CAN RENDER STALKS UNMARKETABLE. UNFORTUNATELY, LITTLE ELSE IS KNOWN ABOUT THE BIOLOGY AND EPIDEMIOLOGY OF THE DISEASE. UNDERSTANDING THE LIFE CYCLE AND HOST INTERACTIONS OF D. RHEI IS ESSENTIAL TO DEVELOP EFFECTIVE DISEASE MANAGEMENT RECOMMENDATIONS. THIS RESEARCH AIMS TO ADVANCE RHUBARB PRODUCTION IN THE NORTHEAST US BY EXPANDING OUR KNOWLEDGE OF PATHOGEN BIOLOGY. TO THIS END, WE HAVE FOUR OBJECTIVES: 1) DESCRIBE THE POPULATION STRUCTURE, 2) DETERMINE IF SEXUAL REPRODUCTION IS POSSIBLE, 3) CLARIFY THE HOST RANGE, AND 4) IDENTIFY POTENTIAL SOURCES OF RESISTANCE. TO ADDRESS THE FIRST OBJECTIVE, WE HAVE COLLECTED OVER 200 D. RHEI ISOLATES ACROSS NEW YORK STATE (NYS). ALL ISOLATES WILL BE GENOTYPED TO DETERMINE IF GENETICALLY UNIQUE INDIVIDUALS ARE PRESENT IN SEVERAL REGIONS AND OVER MULTIPLE YEARS. TO ADDRESS THE SECOND OBJECTIVE, ALL ISOLATES COLLECTED FOR THE FIRST OBJECTIVE WILL BE SCREENED FOR THE PRESENCE OF ONE OF TWO POSSIBLE MATING TYPE (MAT) IDIOMORPHS. IF BOTH ARE PRESENT WITHIN A POPULATION, SEXUAL REPRODUCTION IS POSSIBLE. ISOLATES WITH OPPOSITE MAT IDIOMORPHS AND KNOWN GENOTYPES WILL BE COINOCULATED ON FIELD-PLANTED RHUBARB IN EARLY SUMMER. THE FOLLOWING SPRING, ISOLATES WILL BE COLLECTED FROM EMERGING PLANTS AND GENOTYPED TO DETERMINE IF THEY ARE GENETIC RECOMBINANTS. TO ADDRESS THE THIRD OBJECTIVE, WE WILL SCREEN A PANEL OF CLOSE AND DISTANT RHUBARB RELATIVES FOR SUSCEPTIBILITY TO D. RHEI WITH ARTIFICIAL INOCULATIONS. TO ADDRESS THE FINAL OBJECTIVE, WE WILL SCREEN A SET OF COMMERCIALLY AVAILABLE RHUBARB CULTIVARS FOR DIFFERENCES IN SUSCEPTIBILITY TO D. RHEI WITH ARTIFICIAL INOCULATIONS. THE RESULTS OF THESE PROJECTS WILL ANSWER GROWERS' QUESTIONS ABOUT THE DIVERSITY OF D. RHEI IN NYS, IF GENETIC RECOMBINATION WILL POSE FUTURE DIFFICULTIES IN MANAGING DISEASE, THE HOSTS ON WHICH D. RHEI COULD PERSIST, AND WHICH CULTIVARS CAN BE GROWN TO REDUCE DISEASE. TOGETHER, EACH OBJECTIVE CONTRIBUTES TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF MORE SUSTAINABLE MANAGEMENT OF RHUBARB LEAF SPOT AND THE ADVANCEMENT OF AN EMERGING CROP. · GrantIndex