Effects of sowing date and vernalisation on the growth of winter barley and its resistance to powdery mildew (Erysiphe graminis f.sp. hordei)

Detailed studies on the production of individual leaves, and the development of powdery mildew on them, were made in field plots of winter barley sown on different dates. The greater severity of the disease on early-sown than on later-sown seedlings during the autumn and winter can probably be explained mainly by changes in the abundance of inoculum and the suitability of the weather for infection. Results from glasshouse experiments suggest that the differences may be reinforced by direct effects of vernalisation on the susceptibility of seedlings to the disease. Contrary effects of sowing date on mildew severity during summer are probably due to the progressively greater resistance to mildew of the later-formed than of seedling leaves, and the earlier appearance of corresponding leaves on early-sown than on later-sown plants. Early sowing can also increase the total number of leaves produced per stem. Therefore, because resistance of the leaves increases progressively, the maximum degree of resistance expressed by the later-formed (e.g. flag) leaves will often be greater on early-sown than on later-sown plants.