Author(s):

Shambhu Roy, Uday Kumar, Mina Kumari, Dhyanananda Kumari, Munna Yadav, Rajendra Prasad, Pankaj Kumar and Priyanka Kumari

Abstract: Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.), contributes 18% of the global production of grain legume as dietary proteins. Fusarium wilt caused by Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. Cicero (Foc) was first reported from India in 1918. Currently the disease is predominant in major growing areas in the world. Fusarium wilt is a seed and soil borne disease, the pathogen is highly mutable in its cultural characteristics and pathogenicity. Eight pathogenic races of Foc (races 0, 1A, 1B/C, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6) have been reported worldwide. An important decrease in cropping area and production has been recorded during the last two decades. Several biotic and abiotic constraints underlie this decrease. Fusarium wilt epidemics can devastate crops and cause 10 % to 100% loss in extremely infested fields and under favourable conditions. Despite the efforts deployed in breeding and selection of several chickpea varieties with high yield potential that are tolerant to diseases, the situation has remained the same for the last decade. The disease was first occurring at seedling stage, seedlings collapse and lie flat on soil surface. In case of adult plants, characteristic symptom is brown to black discolouration of xylem vessels. In susceptible plants hyphae are inter and intracellular in pith, xylem and cortex. The phytotoxin produced by the pathogen causes wilting and leaf burning. There exists a correlation between pathogen produced pectate lyase with pathogenicity or virulence. Development of resistant cultivars against fusarium wilt in different breeding programs is principally based on conventional selection. This method is time-consuming and depends on inoculum load and specific environmental factors that influence disease development. The use of molecular tools offers great potential for chickpea development, specifically by identifying molecular markers closely linked to genes/QTLs controlling fusarium wilt. This review summarises the current status of fusarium wilt exploitation and different strategies used for its management.

Pages: 2605-2613  |  1174 Views  578 Downloads

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