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Title: First report of Fusarium redolens causing Fusarium yellowing and wilt of chickpea in Tunisia

Author
item BOUHADIDA, MARIEM - University Of Carthage, Tunisia
item JENDOUBI, W - University Of Carthage, Tunisia
item GARGOURI, S - University Of Carthage, Tunisia
item BEJI, M - University Of Carthage, Tunisia
item KHARRAT, M - University Of Carthage, Tunisia
item Chen, Weidong

Submitted to: Canadian Journal of Plant Pathology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 2/19/2017
Publication Date: 4/4/2017
Citation: Bouhadida, M., Jendoubi, W., Gargouri, S., Beji, M., Kharrat, M., Chen, W. 2017. First report of Fusarium redolens causing Fusarium yellowing and wilt of chickpea in Tunisia. Canadian Journal of Plant Pathology. 101:1038.

Interpretive Summary: Chickpea is an important grain legume in many parts of the world and Fusarium wilt is an economically important disease of chickpea in almost all production areas. We did this study to determine what types of plant pathogenic fungi were causing wilt disease in Tunisia. We isolated nearly 100 fungi from diseased plants and found that over 60% of the isolates were the species Fusarium oxysporum and another 30% of the isolates were Fusarium redolens. Pathogenicity tests showed that the isolates of F. redolens caused severe disease of chickpea. This is the first report of F. redolens causing disease on chickpea in Tunisia. The disease could be more widespread than previous recognized.

Technical Abstract: Chickpea plants showing wilt symptoms in Tunisia have been attributed solely to race 0 of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. ciceris (Foc) in the past. However, chickpea cultivars known to be resistant to race 0 of Foc recently also showed the wilting symptoms. To ascertain the race or species identities responsible for the disease, chickpea plants with wilt symptoms were collected from different chickpea growing areas in Tunisia. Species-specific PCRs were employed to identify the resulting 95 isolates to either Fusarium oxysporum, Foc or F. redolens. Sixty-seven isolates were identified as F. oxysporum, but none of them were Foc. Twenty eight isolates were identified as F. redolens, which was further confirmed by DNA sequences of the translation elongation factor 1a gene. Pathogenicity assays using isolates from different geographic origins on three chickpea genotypes (ILC482, JG62 and cv. Beja 1) indicated that F. redolens is highly virulent on chickpea, inducing a disease syndrome similar to that caused by the yellowing pathotype of Foc. Genotype JG62 was more resistant to F. redolens than the other two genotypes. It is the first report that Fusarium redolens causes wilting-like symptoms in chickpea in Tunisia.