As with any member of a Royal
Family, alfalfa has more pressures
on it than most other perennial for
ages. And, disease wise. 1990 was
no exception.
Over the past several years a
great deal of attention has been
paid to the live major diseases
attacking alfalfa in the East - Bac
terial Wilt, Phytophthora Root
Rot, Fusarium Wilt, Anthracnose,
and Verticillium Wilt And few
would dispute that these are the
major five. Alfalfa breeders
throughout the country have
devoted most of their breeding
efforts to developing varieties
with resistance to these diseases.
And, when we refer to varieties
with multiple pest resistance
we’re referring primarily to resis
tance to these five diseases.
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But there are other diseases
attacking alfalfa too. And in this
column I’d like to review these
briefly and hopefully point out
their relative importance.
Leaf And Stem
Disease
During the past growing season
Dr. Ken Leath, Forage Patholo
gist, at the USDA Pasture Lab, has
identified no fewer than five leaf
and/or stem diseases on alfalfa.
Here’s a brief run-down.
Common Leaf Spot- a leaf dis
ease that occurs wherever alfaHh
is grown and develops during
moist periods at moderate to cool
temperatures.
Lepto Leaf Spot • generally
infects young leaves, and the
greatest damage occurs on young
growth after clipping if favorable,
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moist weather conditions occur at
that time. In older growth only the
young upper leaves become
infected and have typical symp
toms, but seldom die.
Stemphylium Leaf Spot- pre
sent in much of the alfalfa grow
ing areas and is favored by warm,
moist weather.
Spring Black Stem- also
referred to as Phoma leaf and stem
disease. Blacked stems are a nor
mal symptom. Favored by cool,
moist weather.
Bacterial Leaf Spot- a relatively
uncommon disease in our area, but
never-the-less identified several
times this year. Again favored by
moist weather.
I’m sure you get the picture on
these diseases. All are favored by
moist weather. Some develop
under cooler conditions, others
when it’s hot and muggy. But,
regardless, weather conditions in
1990 were ideal for their
development.
Under severe conditions all will
cause a loss of leaves, and, thus,
loss in quality. They seldom cause
stand loss. To date alfalfa breeders
have these diseases on the back
burner in terms of breeding for
resistance. But they will get more
attention in the years ahead.
There are two other diseases
you may have heard of. One is
Sclerodnia Crown and Stem Rot,
the other Aphanomyces.
Sclerotinia does pose a threat
under certain conditions. You may
notice it in early spring on isolated
Other Diseases
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plants of new late summer seed
ings, and especially in no-till
plantings. Infection occurs in the
fall. But you’ll find it in the spring
when the crown or basal part of
the stem may be soft and discol
ored. Later on a white fluffy mass
grows over the area framing hard,
black bodies called sclerotia.
These stick to the surface or may
become embedded in the stems or
crowns. Remember, you’re most
likely to observe this disease in the
spring on no-till seedings made
the previous summer, especially
in southern Pennsylvania, Mary
land and Virginia. And under
epidemic conditions it can cause
stand thinning. Red clover seed
ings are more susceptable than
alfalfa, but if the organism is pre
sent most legumes can be affected.
Finally, Aphanomyces is a rela
tively newcomer as a potential
alfalfa disease problem. But it has
gotten some press. Aphanomyces
root rot is caused by a water
loving fungus, and along with two
other fungi, Phytophthora and
Holstein Association
Recognizes Achievements
STATE COLLEGE
(Centre Co.) The
Pennsylvania Holstein
Association would like
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Uncaster Farming, Saturday, October 6, 1990-A35
Pythium, are common causes of
seedling damping-off and poor
stand establishment of alfalfa.
This disease has been known as a
pathogen of peas and beans for
decades. And, while the organism
has been isolated from soils in
several eastern states, to date its
effect on alfalfa establishment or
productivity has not been docu
mented outside of the pea growing
areas of Central Wisconsin.
Some progress had been made
to develop varieties with limited
resistance to this disease. Howev
er, to complicate the problem Wis
consin workers recently detected a
second race (race 2) of die organ
ism which is highly pathogenic to
varieties with resistance or toler
ance to race 1. So, first of all, we
don’t know if the disease is or will
be a problem in the Northeast
Never-the-less, in terms of resis
tance, for alfalfa breeders it’s
“back to the drawing board” in
search of Aphanomyces-resistant
varieties.
to thank our supporters Show a success. A large
and trophy donors who ringside viewed the
helped make our 1990 show and had the
Fall Championship opportunity to hear who
helped support the
show.
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The following were
sponsors of the PA
Holstein Fall Champ
ionship Show:
Agway Inc. Syra
cuse, NY, American
Breeders Service,
DeForest, WI, Atlantic
Breeders Cooperative,
Lancaster, Elanco Pro
ducts, Fayetteville, NY,
Landmark Genetics,
CA, Monsanto Com
pany, Ephrata, Select
Sire Inc., Plains City,
OH, Sire Power, Tunk
hannock, Taurus Ser
vice, Mehoopany,
Youngs Inc., Roaring
Spring.
Trophy sponsors are
also of importance to
our Fall Show Program.
Pennsylvania Holstein
Association would like
to recognize those who
sponsored trophies at
the Fall Show.
Windy Knoll View
Farm, James & Nina
Burdette, Lancaster
Farming, Inc., Dean &
Melinda Johnson,
Globe Run Farms, John
Foster Family, James
Shaw, Queens Manor
Holsteins, Edward Doe
bierner, Penn-Gatc
Holsteins, Steve &
Chris Wood, Roy Simp
son, Stonehurst Farm,
Tri-Day Holsteins, Cur
tis & Ann Day, Wood
bine Farms, The Knight
Family, Evergreen
Farms, R Wayen Harp
ster, Warren & Lisa
Buckman 111, Parnell
View Farm- Carl Hart
man Family, Farmshine
Newspaper Inc., Zim
merman Brothers,
Autumn-View Hols
teins, Jim & Kim
Grove, Eleanor Karpa,
Rothrock Golden Hols
teins, North View
Farms, Calvin Will
Family, Richard &
Georgianne Locke.