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Powdery Mildew Survey

Posted on May 21, 2014 by Oliver Ellingham

Please refer to the 2015 survey for updated info.

As part of the Powdery Mildew citizen science scheme, I am asking YOU to keep an eye open for powdery mildews.

Powdery mildews commonly occur on garden plants, are unsightly, and can cause serious damage. To help understand how widespread powdery mildews are, both in terms of geography and hosts, the Royal Horticultural Society and University of Reading are working together to identify and map as many powdery mildews as possible over the next two growing seasons. You can help by supplying us with infected plant samples and in exchange we will do our best to tell you what mildew is infecting your plant.

Gernium infected with powdery mildew

Figure 1: Geranium sp. infected with Neoerysiphe geranii in the University of Reading, Harris Gardens

With over 900 named species, occurring on more than 10,000 different plant hosts, even experts struggle to ID them effectively. I am able to collect and analyse many powdery mildew samples around the University campus and further afield in Reading. However, it is necessary to gain more samples, from more UK locations, on more host plants, in order to better understand the problem in UK gardens.

Using DNA sequences I will be able to identify and map which powdery mildews occur where and when they are most prevalent and ultimately develop short DNA sequences allowing for easy ID of similar samples in future.

Quick, accurate and efficient identification of these garden, fungal foes will help to track the presence of British based species on their host plants, perhaps discovering new species invasive to this island. It will also allow us to track which have recently expanded their host ranges to infect new plant species.

UK gardeners and plant enthusiasts can help to build the global knowledge of Fungi and plant diseases. To help this important research please collect and send your infected plant material to me (please try to follow the steps below)!

Figure1: Please try to pick a significant portion of the infected plant: an entire leaf or shoot would be best

Figure2: Please try to pick a significant portion of the infected plant: an entire leaf (such as that of this Geranium sp.) or shoot (like this Myosotis arvensis (Field Forget-me-not)) is best.

I will record the appearance of your fungi, and then pulverise a small part of it to analyse its DNA. Once identified your sample will be added to a national powdery mildew database and you will be sent a link to the relevant record.

Figure 2: Adding a damp tissue will ensure the sample stays fresh.

Figure 3: Adding fresh leaves to a ‘slightly inflated bag’ will help to preserve the sample.

How to…pick and send a powdery mildew sample:

  1. Locate powdery mildew on plant host.
  2. Prune off several whole leaves (fig. 2)
  3. Put the fresh leaves in a slightly inflated sealed bag (fig. 3).
  4. Send to:
Oliver Ellingham
School of Biological Sciences
Harborne Building
University of Reading
Whiteknights
Reading
Berkshire
RG6 6AS
United Kingdom 

…along with the postcode/grid reference of where the sample was found, your email address and the host plants name. If you can add a GPS location and/or photograph of the plant in growth this would be most helpful.

5. We will email you when results are available. This may take several weeks.

This information will help to form a more complete picture of powdery mildew presence in the UK and to develop cutting-edge, molecular identification techniques.

Many thanks to all!

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About Oliver Ellingham

PhD student at the University of Reading. Working on ID techniques of powdery mildew Fungi. Interested in mycology, plant pathology and arboriculture.
View all posts by Oliver Ellingham →
This entry was posted in PhD research, Public Engagement with Science, RHS research and tagged Ascomycota, Erysiphales, Fungal identification, Fungi, Oli Ellingham, Oliver Ellingham, Pathology, Plant Pathology, Powdery Mildew, RHS, Royal Horticultural Society, taxonomy. Bookmark the permalink.
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  • 11 Replies
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Last reply was March 17, 2016
  1. First survey samples received! | Culham Research Group
    View June 13, 2014

    […] mid-May of this year the Powdery Mildew Survey was launched: a project run jointly between the University of Reading and the RHS to help to form […]

    Reply
  2. Citizen Science Samples | Culham Research Group
    View July 9, 2014

    […] powdery mildew citizen science scheme was launched in mid-May. Since then samples have been received from as far north as Moray, […]

    Reply
  3. Citizen Science Samples – Update | Culham Research Group
    View July 29, 2014

    […] may be wondering what happened to the samples that were sent in as part of the powdery mildew citizen science scheme. Over the past month or so, I have been working with these samples with Waheed, so look no further […]

    Reply
  4. VP
    View August 6, 2014

    Hello! This is a very timely find as I’ve blogged about powdery mildew on my Verbena bonariensis today. Expect a sample bag from me shortly 🙂

    It’s been really interesting to read about your project, which raises loads of questions in my mind. Does each mildew species have a certain geographical range? Are they specific to certain host(s) – their immense diversity suggests this might be so? Are there new species to discover out there? It’ll be interesting to see if your research answers these questions – unless you have the answer(s) already 🙂

    Reply
    • Oliver Ellinghamreplied:
      View August 7, 2014

      Aha! Veg plotting hey?! Looks like an interesting and informative blog.
      Thanks for the sample.
      I will try to answer your questions and maybe there’ll be a more detailed blog coming in future 😉
      The PM species do have specific geo origins and host specificity. However with increased trade in plants and their virulence genes PMs are constantly expanding their geographical and host ranges.
      Some species are very host specific, such as the formae speciales on cereals infecting just a single host species, others infect single genera or tribes of plants, while others are polyphagous (infecting a wide range of host plants).
      There are ca. 10x more rust species described than PMs, yet there are few ‘New Disease Reports’ of the rusts… In comparison these NDRs are common for PMs. Therefore there are certainly new species to discover, as well as current PM species to be found on new hosts, and in new regions.
      There is much more to say about each of your questions… sorry. I will keep an eye on your blog, and thanks for the extra publicity, Oli
      http://www.ndrs.org.uk/search.php

      Reply
  5. Invasive powdery mildews | Culham Research Group
    View September 11, 2014

    […] look out for PMs on these new hosts, and send in samples, as records will help to track the spread, especially of the relatively recent E. […]

    Reply
  6. The Powdery Mildew Citizen Science Scheme - development of identification using molecular techniques | Culham Research Group
    View September 18, 2014

    […] Please click on the first slide and then cycle through………and then send some samples! […]

    Reply
  7. Powdery Mildew Survey | Collection Holder News
    View October 22, 2014

    […] Are your plants suffering from powdery mildew? Take part in this citizen science survey organised jointly by the RHS and the University of Reading: http://blogs.reading.ac.uk/crg/powdery-mildew-survey/ […]

    Reply
  8. Powdery Mildew Survey 2015 | Culham Research Group
    View March 3, 2015

    […] inaugural 2014 Powdery Mildew Survey produced a total of 160 powdery mildew samples resulting in 51 different species. Samples were […]

    Reply
  9. 2015 Powdery Mildew Survey Results | Culham Research Group
    View December 17, 2015

    […] have received 353 samples to date (7/12/2015), a two-fold improvement from the inaugural 2014 survey, when 92.5% of samples (148 of 160) were accurately identified to genus level and 78.8% (126 of […]

    Reply
  10. Powdery Mildew Survey 2016 | Culham Research Group
    View March 17, 2016

    […] inaugural 2014 Powdery Mildew Survey, produced a total of 160 powdery mildew samples resulting in 51 different species. This was […]

    Reply
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