Figure 2.

Effect of S. reilianum infection on ear number of maize cv Gaspe Flint. A, S. reilianum-infected plants (right) show a higher ear number then mock-infected plants (left). Each pot contains four plants. B, In mock-infected plants (left), ears form at apical points of a side branch. In infected plants (right), additional secondary ears (arrowheads) develop on subapical side branches of an ear-bearing side branch. C, Quantification of the ear number per plant. Error bars represent se of three independent experiments with 23 ± 2 plants per infection and replicate. The difference is significant (P = 0.01). D, S. reilianum-infected plants significantly (* P = 0.05) develop more ears per branch at the second, third, and fourth nodes. The second node was defined as the top-most node with brace roots, and counting was toward the top. Error bars represent se of three independent experiments with more than 25 plants per infection and replicate. WT, Wild type. [See online article for color version of this figure.]