Graduate Student to Discuss Sheath Blight Disease on Rice in Entomology/Plant Pathology Virtual Seminar

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Sherif Sharfadine is a graduate student in Alejandro Rojas' lab in the Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology.

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology is hosting seminar speaker Sherif Sharfadine, a graduate student in assistant professor Alejandro Rojas' lab, today. The seminar is titled "Evaluation of biological and chemical seed treatment systems for management of diseases on rice."

The seminar takes place from 3:30 p.m. to 5:20 p.m. today, April 6, via Zoom link:

•  https://bit.ly/3sv3Gft
• Meeting ID: 810 5065 7798
• Passcode: Spring2021

The seminar is open to everyone.

Sherif describes the study and results:

"Rhizoctonia solani, a soilborne fungal pathogen, is the causal agent of sheath blight in rice and other diseases in other field crops (Singh et al., 2016). Rhizoctonia solani AG 1-1A in particular is the causal agent of sheath blight, which is a devastating disease in rice (Wamishe et al., 2007). Currently, sheath blight is managed primarily by fungicide application, use of tolerant rice varieties and cultural practices. Sheath blight has the potential to cause up to 50% yield losses in fields where very susceptible cultivars (Wamishe et al., 2007). With no completely resistant commercial varieties to control sheath blight in rice currently, disease management primarily relies on chemical control (Singh et al., 2016).

"Although implementation at the field level is not very practical, biological control agents (BCAs) have shown antagonistic effect against fungal pathogens (Nicolaisen et al., 2018). To determine the performance of the different BCAs, we evaluated 2 strains of Pseudomonas and 2 strains of Burkholderia as biological control agents (BCAs) against Rhizoctonia solani and Fusarium graminearum. Two methods were employed: dual culture assay as preliminary evaluation, followed by a seed plate assay using the BCAs as seed treatments. One strain of Pseudomonas (PBL 24) and one strain of Burkholderia (PBL 18) showed higher antagonistic effect against Rhizoctonia solani and Fusarium graminearum isolates in both assays. In addition, chemical seed treatments on two rice cultivars would be evaluated against Rhizoctonia solani AG groups and different Pythium species in controlled environment."

About the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences: Bumpers College provides life-changing opportunities to position and prepare graduates who will be leaders in the businesses associated with foods, family, the environment, agriculture, sustainability and human quality of life; and who will be first-choice candidates of employers looking for leaders, innovators, policy makers and entrepreneurs. The college is named for Dale Bumpers, former Arkansas governor and longtime U.S. senator who made the state prominent in national and international agriculture. For more information about Bumpers College, visit our website, and follow us on Twitter at @BumpersCollege and Instagram at BumpersCollege.

About the University of Arkansas: The University of Arkansas provides an internationally competitive education for undergraduate and graduate students in more than 200 academic programs. The university contributes new knowledge, economic development, basic and applied research, and creative activity while also providing service to academic and professional disciplines. The Carnegie Foundation classifies the University of Arkansas among fewer than 3% of colleges and universities in America that have the highest level of research activity. U.S. News & World Report ranks the U of A among its top American public research universities. Founded in 1871, the University of Arkansas comprises 10 colleges and schools and maintains a low student-to-faculty ratio that promotes personal attention and close mentoring.