Using Game Theory to Understand Systemic Acquired Resistance as a Bet-Hedging Option for Increasing Fitness When Disease Is Uncertain.

Systemic acquired resistance (SAR) is a mechanism through which plants may respond to initial challenge by a pathogen through activation of inducible defense responses, thereby increasing resistance to subsequent infection attempts. Fitness costs are assumed to be incurred by plants induced for SAR, and several studies have attempted to quantify these costs. We developed a mathematical model, motivated by game-theoretic concepts, to simulate competition between hypothetical plant populations with and without SAR to examine conditions under which the phenomenon of SAR may have evolved.

Remote Sensing for Assessing Rhizoctonia Crown and Root Rot Severity in Sugar Beet.

Rhizoctonia crown and root rot (RCRR), caused by Rhizoctonia solani AG-2-2, is an increasingly important disease of sugar beet in Minnesota and North Dakota. Disease ratings are based on subjective, visual estimates of root rot severity (0-to-7 scale, where 0 = healthy and 7 = 100% rotted, foliage dead). Remote sensing was evaluated as an alternative method to assess RCRR.