Prevalence and Diversity of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici at Bhilwara Region of Rajasthan

Author: Ajay Kumar Jaiswal, Mohammad Faisal and S.P. Tailor

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Abstract

Tomato ranks third among the vegetable crops (Lycopersicon esculentum) with an annual productivity of 115.5 million tons but is constrained by wilt disease caused by Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici. Hence a survey was conducted for fourteen locations at Bhilwara region. Results reveal that Bardod (L1- 36.17) had the highest disease incidence in comparison to other location followed by Mangrop (L6- 32.45). Further, variability of isolates were tested with respect to virulence, cultural and morphological characteristics. It was found that pathogenicity of isolate belonging to Bigod (84.67) showed best pathogenic virulence in comparison to Atoon (6.65) isolate having lowest pathogenecity. Morphological variability was studied by observing mycelium pattern, colour of mycelium and pigmentation on medium for isolates of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici collected from different locations. It shows that mycelium patterns were aerial fluffy, aerial cottony, slightly aerial to submerged and submerged on potato dextrose agar media. The mycelium colour variations were from dirty white to pure white and light pink to violet. Even the pigmentation on PDA was also distinguished from dirty white to white, pink, light violet to violet, light yellow. The macro-conidia ranged from 16.8 – 37.9 × 4.06- 5.92 µm in size with septations ranging from 3-6 and micro-conidia ranged from 6.22 – 12.84 × 3.12 – 5.18 µm in size mostly non-septate or single septations.

Keywords

Tomato, Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici, eco-friendly, bio-agents, botanicals

Conclusion

The isolates collected from various locations of Bhilwara region have huge variations in terms of pathogenic incidence as Bardod [L1-36.17] has the highest incidence whereas it was lowest in the Sardarpura [L8-18.10] area. The pathogenicity of isolate belonging to Bigod (84.67) showed best pathogenic virulence in comparison to Atoon (6.65) isolate having lowest pathogenecity. Cultural and morphological studies shows that isolates from different region had varied sizes of mycelial colour, pigmentations and growth. It can be concluded that isolates of different locations have distinguished diversity and characters. Overall, the future scope for variability studies of fungal pathogens is vast and multidisciplinary, involving genomics, phenomics, ecology, antifungal resistance, and host-pathogen interactions. Such research can provide crucial insights into the mechanisms of fungal pathogenesis, drug resistance, and host susceptibility, leading to improved strategies for managing fungal infections and protecting human health.

References

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How to cite this article

Ajay Kumar Jaiswal, Mohammad Faisal and S.P. Tailor (2023). Prevalence and Diversity of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici at Bhilwara Region of Rajasthan. Biological Forum – An International Journal, 15(3): 497-501.