Articles
Fusarium oxysporum associated with yield decline in Australian processing tomatoes
Article number
1445_3
Pages
13 – 20
Language
English
Abstract
Fusarium oxysporum is an important pathogen of processing tomatoes in Australia.
Infected plants are characterized by stunting, internal stem discoloration, poor root growth, which ultimately results in yield loss.
This study aimed to elucidate the causal agent of the observed yield decline and investigate the pathogenicity of the physiological races on a universal processing tomato cultivar. F. oxysporum isolates collected from symptomatic tomato plants were characterized by PCR and sequencing of pathogenicity-related genes.
A glasshouse bioassay was optimised to assess pathogenicity on a universal processing tomato cultivar with resistance to F. oxysporum f. sp. lycoersici (FOL) race 1 and race 2. Plant growth was assessed by measuring root dry weight at harvest.
All isolates were found to be FOL with the majority potentially belonging to race 3, no f. sp. radicis-lycopersici (FORL) was found.
All isolates tested were able to cause disease and significant reduction of root biomass.
Further studies are ongoing to unravel the genetic variability of Australian F. oxysporum isolates and their aggressiveness on cultivars carrying different sources of resistance using the optimised methods.
Infected plants are characterized by stunting, internal stem discoloration, poor root growth, which ultimately results in yield loss.
This study aimed to elucidate the causal agent of the observed yield decline and investigate the pathogenicity of the physiological races on a universal processing tomato cultivar. F. oxysporum isolates collected from symptomatic tomato plants were characterized by PCR and sequencing of pathogenicity-related genes.
A glasshouse bioassay was optimised to assess pathogenicity on a universal processing tomato cultivar with resistance to F. oxysporum f. sp. lycoersici (FOL) race 1 and race 2. Plant growth was assessed by measuring root dry weight at harvest.
All isolates were found to be FOL with the majority potentially belonging to race 3, no f. sp. radicis-lycopersici (FORL) was found.
All isolates tested were able to cause disease and significant reduction of root biomass.
Further studies are ongoing to unravel the genetic variability of Australian F. oxysporum isolates and their aggressiveness on cultivars carrying different sources of resistance using the optimised methods.
Authors
H. Feng, P.W.J. Taylor, S. Fuentes, A. Pang, N. Vaghefi
Keywords
soil borne pathogen, wilt, collar and root rot, Fusarium oxysporum species complex (FOSC), pathogenicity bioassay, physiological races
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