Daily and seasonal spore dispersal by Mycosphaerella pinodes and development of mycosphaerella blight of field pea

Daily and seasonal spore dispersal of Mycosphaerella pinodes (Berk & Bloxam) Vestergren and the relationship of spore dispersal to distance and disease severity were investigated in a pea field in western Canada during two consecutive years. Most ascospores were released in response to rain events, during the first 23–27 d after the inoculum source area was infested with naturally diseased pea residue, whereas most pycnidiospores were trapped during the first 20 d. For both ascospores and pycnidiospores, the highest peaks of spore release occurred during the first 14–20 d after infestation. Few spores were trapped after day 27 after infestation. Daily peaks of ascospore and pycnidiospore release occurred between 1700 and 0400 hours. Most ascospores were released 1–2 d after a rain event and the largest peak appeared the first day after rain. In contrast, most pycnidiospores were released on the same day as rain occurred or the following day. The release of both spore types was associated with rainfall events ≥2 mm during the first 27 d after infestation but not with rainfall events after 27 d. Ascospore density was negatively correlated with distance from the inoculum source (r ≤ –0.92) and positively related to the disease severity (r ≥ 0.92). Disease severity decreased with increasing distance from the inoculum source. The patterns of spore dispersal associated with rain events have practical applications in the disease forecasting and spraying of chemicals to control the disease.