species associated with asparagus crowns and soil in Australia and New Zealand

• Published in: Australasian plant pathology 1997, Vol.26 (4), p.255-261
• Main Authors: W.H. Elmer, B.A. Summerell, L.W. Burgess, D. Backhouse, A.A. Abubaker
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 1448-6032
• DOI: 10.1071/AP97041

Crown and root rot, a destructive disease of asparagus caused by Fusarium oxysporum and F. proliferatum occurs in many countries, but has been reported only once in Australia. This may be because the pathogens are absent from most fields or because their densities are too low to incite significant disease. Asparagus crowns were sampled from eight asparagus-growing regions in Australia and one in New Zealand. Ten species of Fusarium were associated with the crowns. F. oxysporum , F. proliferatum and F. solan i comprised 85% of the 374 isolates and were recovered from each site. F. semitectum , F. equiseti , F. moniliforme, F. subglutinans , F. scirpi, F . compactum and F. nygamai were also isolated. Most isolates (88%) of F. proliferatum could be assigned to mating population “D” in Gibberella fujikuroi , but all other members of the Liseola section could not be aligned with a known mating group. Eight species of Fusarium were found among the 228 isolates from asparagus field soils, and F. oxysporum , F. equiseti , F. solani and F. semitectum comprised over 90% of the isolates. F. compactum , F. scirpi and F. nygamai were recovered infrequently and only from tropical and subtropical areas. The species composition found in Australia was similar to that observed on asparagus in other countries where the disease caused by F. oxysporum and F. proliferatum is severe. The reason for the low severity of the disease in many of Australia’s asparagus-producing areas is not known. Keywords: Asparagus officinalis, Fusarium crown and root rot Australasian Plant Pathology 26(4) 255 - 261 Full text doi:10.1071/AP97041 © CSIRO 1997