Effects of Light Level and Nitrogen Supply on the Red Clover-Orobanche Minor Host-Parasite Interaction.

ABSTRACT: Infection by holoparasitic plants typically causes decreases in host mass, thought to be primarily as a result of resource abstraction. Inverse relationships have been noted between the number of Orobanche spp. parasites infecting a host and their mass, suggesting that the parasites compete for a shared resource pool, assumed to be recently fixed carbon (C). In clover, nitrogen (N) fixation requires a high proportion of daily photosynthate and represents a potential competitor for recently fixed C. We grew Trifolium pratense, either singly or parasitised by Orobanche minor, under high or low light levels, and with or without exogenous N supply. Low light and N deficiency led to decreased host biomass, while the damage caused by parasitism was proportionate to host mass. Parasitism caused r

SUBMITTER: Jokinen JI 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6631064 | biostudies-literature | 2019 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature