Abstract

Fusarium wilt’s pathogenic studies and disease management: A review

Author(s): Ch. Muhammad Rafiq, Muhammad Tariq Mahmood, Mushtaq Ahmad, Imtiaz Ali, Sadia Kaukab, Muhammad Shafiq, Muhammad Saleem, Umer Iqbal

Fusarium wilt caused by Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. ciceris is one of the most important fungal diseases of chickpea limiting its productivity in almost all chickpea growing countries across the world. F. oxysporum is soil borne and root inhabiting in nature which may survives in soil for longer period (up to six years). Pathogen undergoes asexual reproduction by producing three types of spores; micro-conidia, macro-conidia and chlamydospores. Chlamydospores serve as primary inoculum for the disease occurrence. Prevalence and severity of disease are driven by inoculum populations and susceptibility of cultivar. F. oxysporum has high pathogenic variability having eight distinguished races and two known pathotypes. General symptoms of chickpea wilt are wilting, drooping, discoloration, yellowing, browning of xylem vessel and eventual collapse of whole plant. Delayed planting, seed dressing with fungicides, deep ploughing, use of bio-control agents and sowing of certified wilt resistant cultivars have been found helpful to minimize the disease prevalence. Through this review we have attempted to summarize the general aspects of fusarium wilt with an emphasis to pathogenicity and integrated disease management strategies.

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