2008-'09 - Kerala Forest Research Institute

Annual Report 2008-09
witches brooms, cankers or galls. Plants with severe rust infections appeared stunted,
chlorotic, or otherwise, discoloured; heavy uredinial sporulation turned the affected
plant part yellowish orange. Rust fungi sporulated on leaves, shoots, fruits, and woody
stems. A large number of host plants in different forest ecosystems belonging to the
Anacardiaceae, Apocynaceae, Combretaceae, Euphorbiaceae, Fabaceae, Lauraceae,
Malvaceae, Meliaceae, Oleaceae, Poaceae, Rhamnaceae, Rosaceae, Rubiaceae, Salicaceae,
Urticaceae and Verbenaceae were affected by rust fungi. Important rust fungal genera
encountered included Aecidium, Cerotelium, Crossopora, Dasturella, Hemileia, Maravalia,
Melampsora, Olivea, Puccinia, Ravenelia, Roestelia, Uredo, Uromyces and Zaghouania.
Definite patterns of relationships were observed among the host plant groups and
the rust fungi that parasitized them. Some genera of rust fungi, especially Puccinia
and Uromyces, were capable of parasitizing plants of many families. However, many
rust fungal genera appeared to be rather definitely restricted to certain host plants.
Most of the rust fungal infection on forestry species led to foliage necrosis and thereby
premature defoliation. However, severe foliage and stem infection which led to
malformation of shoots was also observed in a few plants including Cinnamomum
malabatrum, C. zeylanicum, Meliosma pinnata and Olea dioica.
DNA barcoding of Dalbergia species
The project aimed at development of DNA barcode for Dalbergia species. The
collaborating institutions were National Institute of Plant Genomic Research
(NIPGR), New Delhi and National Chemical Laboratory (NCL), Pune. Data on
the distribution of the 12 Dalbergia species in the Western Ghats of Kerala and
Tamil Nadu from BSI-SC Herbarium and literature to facilitate sample collection
were collected. Taxonomical and morphological characterization of the collected
Dalbergia germplasm was continued. The sample preservation method was
standardized and the collected samples were processed and DNA extracted.
Dalbergia sissoides twig with flowers
Dalbergia volubilis climbing stem
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Kerala Forest Research Institute