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ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Salinas, California » Crop Improvement and Protection Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #420136
Research Project: Disease Management and Improved Detection Systems for Control of Pathogens of Vegetables and Strawberries

Location: Crop Improvement and Protection Research

Title: First report of Fusarium falciforme causing root and stem rot in cowpea (syn. black-eyed pea; Vigna unguiculata) in California

Author
item ZIMMERMAN, KACEY - University Of California
item CLARK, NICHOLAS - University Of California - Cooperative Extension Service
item TURINI, THOMAS - University Of California - Cooperative Extension Service
item PAULK, ANDREA - University Of California
item DEL CASTILLO MUNERA, JOHANNA - University Of California
item LI, NINGXIAO - Pennsylvania State University
item GEISER, DAVID - Pennsylvania State University
item Martin, Frank
item SWETT, CASSANDRA - University Of California

Submitted to: Plant Disease
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 10/1/2024
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary: This manuscript is the first report of Fusarium falciforme causing root and stem rot of cowpea in California.

Technical Abstract: In both April 2018 and September 2019, cowpeas / black-eyed peas (Vigna unguiculata) in one field in Tulare County, California were observed with tap root rot, both underground (foot) and aboveground stem rot, and in some cases canopy decline, compromising bean formation. Hyphal tipped cultures were sequenced with Illumina and partial tef1' and rpb2 sequences were extracted from genome sequences in silico. Sequences were 99.9-100% identical to one another and to deposited F. falciforme isolates based on Fusarium ID and Fusarium MLST for tef1' and rpb2, respectively (tef1a accessions: NRRL 28562 and NRRL 32331; rpb2 accession: NRRL 22857), Pathogenicity tests confirmed this taxon could cause root and crown rot of cowpea.