Pathogenicity and Molecular Analysis of Fusarium Isolates in Nendran and Grand Naine
S. Vinith
Department of Plant Biotechnology, Centre for Plant Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, India.
V. Sendhilvel
Department of Plant Pathology, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore, India.
G. Karthikeyan
Department of Plant Pathology, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore, India.
M. Raveendran
Department of Plant Biotechnology, Centre for Plant Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, India.
R. Raghu *
Department of Plant Biotechnology, Centre for Plant Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, India.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Fusarium wilt, a devastating disease, poses a significant global threat to the banana industry. This study is aimed to assess the host susceptibility and pathogenicity of Fusarium isolates in tissue-cultured Nendran and Grand Naine banana varieties. Eight isolates were acquired from the Department of Plant Biotechnology at Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore. Among the eight isolates tested, S-6, S-32G, S-56 and S-67 produced disease symptoms in both Nendran and Grand Naine varieties. Subsequently, the pathogen was reisolated from infected tissues displaying vascular discoloration. While the isolate S-6 produced 66.67% of disease incidence in both the varieties, S-32G, S-56 and S-67 produced 100% disease incidence in Nendran and Grand Naine. Molecular analysis confirmed the presence of the Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. cubense pathogen, with an amplicon observed at 260 bp. Furthermore, non-pathogenic isolates may potentially exert direct or indirect effects on pathogenic strains, offering prospects for disease control.
Keywords: Fusarium wilt, disease incidence, tissue culture plants of Grand naine and nendran, non-pathogenic Fusarium strains, disease control