National Institute of Agricultural Botany,Huntingdon Road,Cambridge,CB3 0LEUnited KingdomMini-biography I lead the Genetics of Host Resistance Programme at the National Institute of Agricultural Botany, Cambridge UK. My group is genetically dissecting resistance to a variety of cereal and legume pests and pathogens using both classical and LD mapping methods and is also interested in working towards the more efficient exploitation of macro- and micro-synteny between model and crop legumes to assist genetic dissection of pest and disease resistance in Phaseolus and Vicia.
In addition to target-oriented research, I am working with colleagues in the UK legume research and breeding community to develop a consensus white paper outlining a vision for underpinning science needed to unlock the potential of faba bean as crop of key importance to agricultural sustainability in the UK. One of my principal objectives in attending the meeting is to connect with colleagues around Europe and further afield interested in working together to develop tools and resources that will allow meaningful progress in faba bean improvement across the board.
Sources of resistance for pests and diseases limiting UK faba bean production and methods for their evaluationDonal O’Sullivan, Natalia Stawniak, David Smith, Jane Thomas
National Institute of Agricultural Botany, Huntingdon Road, Cambridge, CB3 0LE United Kingdom
donal.osullivan@niab.comThe United Kingdom is the world’s second largest producer of faba beans, yet the industry relies on relatively few varieties leaving the crop somewhat vulnerable to disease and pest pressures.
The bruchid beetle, Bruchus rufimanus, has become prevalent in the southern UK in recent years and constitutes a major threat to production targeting the human consumption market. We have commenced a surveillance programme for varietal resistance and present our results from the 2006 season. No effective resistance was observed either in contemporary winter or spring germplasm suggesting that there is a need to screen through wider germplasm for (a) source(s) of resistance. In order to screen efficiently, we developed a proprietary image analysis (IA) system that identifies and separately classifies bruchid and parasitoid wasp emergence holes, and we have validated its use on the manually evaluated 2006 samples.
Downy mildew (Peronospora viciae f.sp. viciae) is the most serious foliar pathogen of the spring sown crop in the UK. Yield losses of 1t/ha may occur, and fungicide control is expensive. Resistant cultivars could provide growers with effective control, yet despite the existence of high levels of resistance in some material, the majority of the acreage is sown with a cultivar which is relatively susceptible. Introduction of resistance into a wider range of material is thus desirable, coupled with improved understanding of pathogen variability, and its potential impact on stability of resistance.
Stem eelworm (Ditylenchus dipsaci) is both seed and soil-borne, and sporadically creates major yield losses through early senescence and poor pod fill. Though seed health is an important factor in pest management, resistance has been identified, though none is claimed for cultivars grown in the UK. Its introduction would greatly improve the prospects for avoiding the serious damage which can be caused by eelworm.
The range of priority pest and disease resistances for the UK differs from other major producers of faba bean, yet in the absence of breeding programmes with specific targets related to these priorities, the acreage may decline despite the benefits to rotations. We present a scheme for developing genetics and genomics resources which can be used to underpin improvement of the crop, and which would help to provide solutions to the biotic stresses described here, but also would link to other national and international programmes to create new tools for the faba bean research and breeding community.
