Phytoparasitica (2000) 28, 284-285
Yael Rekah, D. Shtienberg and J. Katan (2000)
Dissemination of Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. radicis-lycopersici - the causal agent of Fusarium crown and root rot in tomatoes - in soil, roots, air and seeds of a non-host plant
Phytoparasitica 28 (3), 284-285
21st Congress of the Israeli Phytopathological Society, February 14-15, 2000, Bet Dagan, Israel, lecture
Abstract: The tomato crown and root-rot disease caused by Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. radicis-lycopersici (Forl) is a devastating disease. In a study carried out recently it was demonstrated that Forl is a polycyclic pathogen in nature, and can spread from diseased to healthy plants during a growing season. In the present study, the means of the pathogen's dissemination in time and space were studied. Forl was found to spread along the rows in the field during the growing season. In greenhouse experiments it was demonstrated that the pathogen spreads via root-to-root contact, from diseased to adjacent healthy plants, and not by self-growth in the soil. Large numbers of Forl macroconidia produced on the stem surface of diseased plants are aerially disseminated in fields and greenhouses and may infect healthy plants. It was demonstrated that infection occurs either by soil infestation followed by root infection, or by direct infection of the foliage. Disease incidence of foliar-inoculated tomato plants reached 85-100% of the inoculated plants. A widespread wild plant (Tamarix nilotica) which has become a common weed in fields in the southern part of Israel is also involved in the dissemination and survival of the pathogen. Roots of the weed are colonized by the pathogen, enabling it to proliferate and survive hostile conditions. Seeds of T. nilotica, contaminated with propagules of Forl, are spread in the field during the pathogen's conidiation period and assist in the dissemination of the pathogen. In summary, Forl is a unique soilborne pathogen. The various means of dissemination enable it to complete several disease cycles during a crop's growing season, a trait which is usually attributed to foliar pathogens. These characteristics require reconsideration of the management strategies currently used for its suppression.
(The abstract is excluded from the Creative Commons licence and has been copied with permission by the publisher.)
Database assignments for author(s): Dani Shtienberg, Jaacov Katan
Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
environment - cropping system/rotation
general biology - morphology - evolution
Pest and/or beneficial records:
| Beneficial | Pest/Disease/Weed | Crop/Product | Country | Quarant.
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fusarium crown and root rot | Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) | Israel | ||
| Tamarix senegalensis (weed) | Israel | |||
| Fusarium oxysporum |
