Interaction between Pyricularia oryzae, four Helminthosporium species and Curvularia lunata in rice leaves

Abstract

The interaction between six fungal parasites of rice: Pyricularia oryzae, Helminthosporium oryzae, H. sativum, H. spiciferum, H. australiensis and Curvularia lunata was studied quantitatively by a modified plant ecology technique known as the de Wit replacement series. Each fungus was inoculated alone or in combination with one of the other five fungi in various proportions into rice plants under experimental conditions. Leaves developing lesions were harvested and incubated in a moist chamber. The yield of each fungus was its conidial production on the rice leaves. The artificial inoculations indicated that interactions between the pathogens in the mixture could be beneficial, antagonistic, or null. Interspecific interaction (i.e. antagonism) occurred in the majority of paired combinations (H. oryzae + P. oryzae; H. sativum + H. spiciferum, H. australiensis, C. lunata or P. oryzae; H. australiensis + H. spiciferum, C. lunata or P. oryzae; and P. oryzae + C. lunata). The relative yield total (RYT) lines were significantly lower than the expected value, which is 1. The RYT lines were concave upward, revealing a beneficial effect of one or both pathogens on the other, when H. oryzae was in mixture with H. sativum or H. spiciferum. A null effect between fungi occurred in four combinations (H. oryzae + H. australiensis or C. lunata; H. spiciferum + C. lunata; and P. oryzae + H. spiciferum) showing that with these combinations inter- and intraspecific competitions were equal in intensity. Thus, the de Wit replacement series technique indicated that it was possible to quantify the interaction between all the pathogenic fungi tested.