Pecan Nuts Showing Susceptibility to Pecan Scab and Resistant Free of Infection
Pecan Nuts (left) showing Susceptibility to Pecan Scab and Resistant Nuts (right) Free of Infection
Author: Patrick Conner
By njcflocal
April 30, 2021
Pecan scab, caused by the fungus Ventura effusa, is a leading constraint to pecan culture in the southeastern U.S. Control of this disease often requires 12 or more fungicide sprays over the course of a season. By inoculating pecan trees with scab isolates causing resistant and susceptible reactions and looking at gene expression at different time points after infection, Dr. Patrick Conner and his Ph.D. student, Gaurab Bhattarai, at the University of Georgia in collaboration with Dr. Jennifer Randall at New Mexico State University are studying what genes are involved in resistance to this disease. This information will be used by the UGA pecan breeding program to produce cultivars resistant to this pernicious disease.
Copyright 2021-2025 New Mexico State University Board of Regents.
This work is supported by the Specialty Crop Research Initiative Coordinated Agricultural Project no. 2022-51181-38332, from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture.
Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and should not be construed to represent any official USDA or U.S. Government determination or policy.
