The association of trauma blight with weather parameters will be analyzed so that sprays can be better timed. amylovora from fire blight affected orchards, especially where control is poor, will be evaluated for streptomycin resistance. The use of infection prediction models by growers will be facilitated and promoted so that sprays of streptomycin and other materials for blossom blight control can be applied most effectively, so delaying the occurrence of tolerance in E. Materials that have given promising results previously and new materials will be further evaluated for control of blossom in inoculated trails, and labeled materials will be evaluated in grower orchards. Silencing of HrpN-interacting proteins will be evaluated as a resistance strategy. Transgenic lines will be characterized for kinase expression and for resistance. amylovora protein necessary for disease development in apple, have been constructed and transferred to apple, in order to silence the native kinases and disconnect infection pathways. Sequences, including RNAi, of 4 apple kinases that interact with DspE, an E.

HrpN- and MpNPR1-transgenic apple lines have shown resistance in preliminary tests, and will be evaluated for field performance. Genes have been cloned from the causal bacterium, Erwinia amylovora, (HrpN) and from apple (MpNPR1) that are hypothesized to inhibit infection when expressed in transgenic apple lines. Characterization of selected lytic protein transgenic lines will be completed. Project Methods Previous research has shown the feasibility of transforming commercial apple scion and rootstock cultivars with genes from other organisims and obtaining fire blight resistant transgenic lines with normal varietal fruit characteristics.

Apple tree fire blight