| This project going to be… | Experimental (lab/field based) |
| Email | m.c.mcdonald@bham.ac.uk |
| Position held | Birmingham Fellow |
| Title of Project | Effect of saprophytic fungal mycelium on Armillaria root rot of strawberry |
| Institution Department and Address | University of Birmingham |
| Edgbaston, West Midlands B15 2TT |
| United Kingdom |
| Full Name of Supervisor | Megan McDonald |
| Date of Project Commencement | 05/06/2023 |
| Duration (weeks) | 10 |
| Brief Description of Project | Armillaria root rot is a lethal fungal infection of plant roots. The range of plants affected spans woody, rhizomatous and herbaceous plants, with over 400 known host genera. Furthermore, there are no sustainable and effective controls for home gardeners to use to prevent reoccurrence of infection, leading to it being the most frequently diagnosed disease by RHS Gardening Advice Service for more than 25 years. Fungal competition experiments show that Armillaria species are poor competitors for dead wood compared to saprophytic fungi, but we do not know how competition between saprophytes and Armillaria plays out in a garden, nor if the presence of saprophytic fungi in soils can reduce the impact of Armillaria root rot in living plants. This project proposes to assess the ability of saprophytic fungal mycelium to affect disease progression of Armillaria root rot in in planta experiments using strawberries as a highly susceptible host, and in vitro using agar and woodblock experiments on a range of A. mellea isolates. We will run the experiments at Wolfson Advanced Glasshouses at the University of Birmingham and collaborate with the RHS to co-supervise and provide additional career development opportunities for the student. The expected outcomes are improved advice for gardeners managing Armillaria root rot outbreaks on the efficacy and consistency of any inhibition to A. mellea by saprotrophic fungi commonly found in gardens. In addition, the project will establish a collaboration between RHS and University of Birmingham and their Wolfson Advanced Glasshouses with the intention to strengthen this bond through future collaborations. |
| Attach the recommended reading for the project | Cromey M, Drakulic J, Beal L, Waghorn I, Perry J, Clover G. (2020) Susceptibility of garden trees and shrubs to Armillaria root rot. Plant Disease. 104 (2), pp483–92 |
| Drakulic J, Bashir N, Cromey M, Clover G, Beal E. (2018) Associations of Armillaria root rot, Trichoderma endophytes and host plants in UK gardens. Phytopathology, 108 (10S), S1.247 |
| Drakulic J, Gorton C, Perez-Sierra A, Clover G, Beal E. (2017) Associations Between Armillaria Species and Host Plants in U.K. Gardens. Plant Disease,101 (11), pp1903–09 |
