Influence of electron radiation of spring barley seeds on phytopathogenic microflora

Under the conditions of a model pot experiment, the effect of electron irradiation on the phytopathogenic microflora of plant roots and leaves was studied. The studies were carried out on spring barley seeds of the Vladimir variety (reproduction 1), affected by helminthosporiosis (pathogen Bipolaris sorokiniana Shoem.), (natural infectious background). This pathogen causes root rot and leaf spot. The grain was irradiated using a wide-aperture electron accelerator “Duet” with a mesh plasma cathode and the output of the generated beam of a large cross-section into the atmosphere in doses of 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 kGy. The total administered dose was increased by changing the number of pulses. The radiation dose rate was 100 Gy/pulse, the electron energy was 130 keV (mode 1) and 160 keV (mode 2). The depth of dose absorption did not exceed 300 μm. Based on the conducted studies on the effect of electron irradiation on root rot (pathogen Bipolaris sorokiniana) of spring barley, it was noted that in the tillering and heading phases, when irradiating seed material with a dose of 2 kGy in mode 1 (130 keV), the disease incidence and prevalence decreased by more than 1.5 times compared to the non-irradiated control. In the phase of full grain maturity, the highest value of root infestation (45–50%) and prevalence (95–100%) of Bipolaris sorokiniana were recorded, but statistically significant differences between the irradiated variants and the control were absent. The records of the damage of vegetative plants showed that in the tillering phase, for all irradiation variants in mode 1, the degree of damage to leaves 1–3 increased by 23% compared to the control, and in the heading phase, the degree of damage to the upper leaves (1–3) exceeded the control when irradiated at doses of 2–5 kGy (mode 1) and 1–5 kGy (mode 2) – 2.1–2.8 times for 1 leaf, 1.9–2.0 times for 2 leaves and 1.2 times for 3 leaves.