Articles
SELECTION FOR FUSARIUM RESISTANCE IN NERINE BOWDENII
Fusarium sacchari var. elongatum (formerly F. moniliforme var. subglutinans) is the causal agent of bulbrot in Nerine.
Growth of bulbs and flower production are inhibited by the pathogen, due to the rotting of roots and bulb-scales.
A screening method was developed.
The most suitable inoculation method was established by comparing three kinds of inoculum.
The fungus grown in aerated liquid Czapek Dox medium to a spore suspension of 8.106 spores/ml added to the soil, was chosen for further investigations.
Selection for resistance was carried out with 56 clonal selections of N. bowdenii from diallel crosses.
After 8 months of growth in infected soil, the percentage of lost bulbs varied between 0 and 58%. After the second year of growth the experiment was finished and bulbrot symptoms and harvest weights were recorded.
The degree of infection varied considerably.
It is concluded that the variation in resistance for Fusarium bulbrot within N. bowdenii is large enough to select clones with a high degree of resistance.