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A trichothecene biosynthesis gene (TRI)-based PCR assay is employed to analyze a collection of 336 isolates from Gibberella zeae from barley, wheat, potatoes, and sugar beets and determine the toxigenic potential of G. zeae. The findings from the studies might be applied to monitor mycotoxin contamination and to formulate Fusarium head blight (FHB) management strategies for these crops.

Monilinia vacccinii-corymbosi (phylum Ascomycota, family Sclerotiniaceae) causes fruit disease 'mummy berry' on berry crops and responsible for yield losses and quality of fruits. We reported mummy berry disease of black huckleberry (Vaccinium membranaceum) first time in British Columbia, Canada. We have performed sequencing and genome assembly of M. vacccinii-corymbosi from infected fruits of huckleberry. The resulting genome was 33.8 Mbp in size and consisted of 2,437 scaffolds with an N50 of 33,816 bp. To our best knowledge, this is the first report of resource announcement of whole genome sequence of mummy berry pathogen ( M. vacccinii-corymbosi ) infecting black huckleberry. The genome resource will be valuable for future studies to understand the genomic structure of pathogen, and mechanisms associated with black huckleberry- M. vacccinii-corymbosi interactions., Competing Interests: Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interest exists., (© His Majesty the King in Right of Canada, as represented by the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, 2024.)

Phytophthora root rot and wilting complex (PRRW) of red raspberry, caused primarily by Phytophthora rubi , is an economically important disease in British Columbia (BC) and in raspberry producing regions globally. Reliable, rapid, and efficient screening methods are lacking for evaluating germplasm for potential disease resistance in raspberry breeding programs as well as for screening pathogen isolates for virulence. The objective of this study was to compare various screening methods for efficiency and rapidity in inducing symptoms of disease to identify the most suitable approach. We compared several intact plant root inoculation (IPRI) assays, detached stem assays, and an intact plant stem inoculation (IPSI) assay. A virulent isolate of P. rubi was inoculated in two commercial cultivars: 'Chemainus' (susceptible to PRRW) and 'Cascade Bounty' (moderately resistant to PRRW). For IPRI assays, days to first symptom development, plant wilt progression, and root assessment were recorded. For detached stem tissue and IPSI assays, days to first visible lesions and lesion size were assessed. Experiments were arranged in a completely randomized design with three replications in each experiment. Three IPRI assays produced reliable symptoms in both cultivars. Among the detached stem assays, a node inoculation method performed better than other methods. Detached stem assays are useful for rapid pathogenicity testing of P. rubi , whereas IPRI assays are better for screening germplasm for disease resistance. Overall, this study identified several assays that can be used for conducting studies on pathogen phenotypic diversity (pathogenicity and virulence tests) and screening raspberry cultivars, germplasm, and breeding materials for response to PRRW.