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The current national trends in nutrition have resulted in a very high interest in the benefits of proper diet. It is very apparent that adding foods high in antioxidants to the human diet can have drastic affects on human health by reducing the risk of cancer, cardiovascular and pulmonary disease, as well as age-related degenerative diseases. It is well-known and well-documented that spinach is one of the very best vegetables in antioxidant potential. It is high in beta-carotene (provitamin A) and is also very high in lutein (a carotenoid that is a strong antioxidant but with no vitamin A activity). Lutein has also been documented to have the potential to significantly reduce macular degeneration in humans when added to the diet on a regular basis. With these health benefits in mind the Univ. of Arkansas is releasing the spinach breeding line that has been tested as 88-310. It is a slow-growing semi-savoy that exhibits excellent color and has a moderate level of white rust resistance. It has excellent plant type, producing a very attractive compact rosette plant that is very desirable for root cut whole plants or for various types of clipped spinach. It is best-suited to both fall and overwinter production in Arkansas and for winter production in the Texas wintergarden. Seed for tests can be obtained by contacting T.E. Morelock, Dept. of Horticulture, Univ. of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR 72701.
Zonate leaf spot (ZLS) caused by Cristulariella moricola, apparently a rare disease of tomato, was identified in a commercial tomato field in southeastern Arkansas in June, 1991. Although lesions of ZLS were similar to early blight (Alternaria solani) lesions, which were also present, there were several distinctions between the lesions: the concentric rings in lesions of ZLS were more symmetrical than early blight lesions, no distinct chlorosis was associated with the lesions, and ZLS lesions were not localized near the bottom of the tomato canopy. Koch's postulates were completed on several greenhouse grown tomato cultivars. Inoculum was produced on autoclaved tomato leaves incubated at 20 C and consisted of large (300-400 um long) “Christmas tree” shaped propagules. When free moisture was maintained at 20 C, large (> 1 cm), rapidly expanding, water-soaked lesions were observed on leaves of inoculated plants 1-3 days after inoculation. Lower humidities caused lesions to rapidly dry out. Epidemiological factors, such as temperature, leaf wetness, and cultivar susceptibility also have been examined.
Spinach, Spinacia oleracea, is a highly nutritious vegetable that is increasing in popularity more rapidly than any other salad crop. In the eastern United States spinach production is severely impacted by white rust, Albugo occidentalis. For many years, the University of Arkansas has bred spinach to cope with this endemic problem. While fungicides can provide a degree of control, the combination of genetic resistance and fungicides is the most effective method to insure production stability. `Evergreen' and F415 are the latest developments of this breeding program. `Evergreen', widely tested as Ark 88-212, is a slow growing, dark green, semi-savoy spinach that exhibits a good level of white rust resistance. It is not long-standing and should not be used for spring production in Arkansas and Oklahoma. It has been widely tested in Arkansas and Texas. F415, widely tested as Ark 91-415, is an upright, dark green, flat leaf spinach that has a good level of white rust resistance. It is is well suited to the Arkansas, Oklahoma and Texas production area and, because of its better color and more upright growth habit, it should replace Ark F380.
Verticillium dahliae is a pathogen of spinach (Spinacia oleracea) during spinach seed crop production but not in vegetative leafy spinach crops, because plants remain asymptomatic until bolting has been initiated (conversion from vegetative to reproductive growth). The objectives of this research were to evaluate a set of USDA spinach germplasm accessions for resistance to Verticillium wilt and to determine the range in incidence of natural seed infection/infestation in a subset of the USDA spinach accessions screened for resistance. A total of 120 Spinacia spp. accessions from the USDA North Central Regional Plant Introduction Station spinach germplasm collection and 10 commercial S. oleracea hybrids were screened for resistance to V. dahliae in Trials 1, 2, and 3 in 2006, 2007, and 2008, respectively, in greenhouse evaluations. Each accession was grown in either V. dahliae-infested or non-infested potting mix and rated weekly on a seven-step scale from 1 week before bolting to 4 weeks after bolting. A wide range of disease severity ratings was observed among the accessions evaluated. Most of the accessions were highly susceptible. There was no evidence of qualitative resistance but some showed greater levels of quantitative resistance than others. Plants in soil infested with V. dahliae senesced faster and had significantly reduced biomass compared with plants in non-infested soil of the same accession. In addition, in Trial 2 (2007), 34% (20 of 59) of the seed samples assayed of the accessions were infested or infected with V. dahliae; and in Trial 3, (2008) 16% (21 of 130) of the seed samples of the USDA accessions evaluated were infested or infected with V. dahliae, V. tricorpus, or Gibellulopsis nigrescens (formerly known as V. nigrescens). These results are valuable for characterizing potential genetic variability within spinach germplasm for resistance to V. dahliae.
Resistance to race 3 and 4 of downy mildew (Peronospora farinosa f.sp. spinaciae) was examined in separate field inoculation tests. Three Arkansas cultivars and three other commercial spinach cultivars were compared by periodically scoring individual leaves for disease severity 7 to 28 days after inoculation. Leaves were scored on a 0 to 6 scale with 0 = 0% of the leaf surface being covered with sporulation and 6 = 90-100%. Resistance was evaluated by comparing disease ratings on a given day as well as the area under the disease progress curve. Arkansas spinach cultivars exhibited significantly lower disease severity ratings in field inoculation tests for all sample dates for both races 3 and 4 when compared to known susceptible cultivars.
Abstract
‘Derby’ peach [Prunus persica (L.) Batsch] was released in 1978 to fill the need for an early, large, fresh-market peach. Derby is the name of a town in the North Carolina sandhills.