Fungi pathogenic on wild radish (Raphanus raphanistrum L.) in northern Tunisia as potential biocontrol agents

The distribution and life cycle of wild radish (Raphanus raphanistrum L.) and a survey of the pathogens of this plant are reported for the northern regions of Tunisia. Wild radish is a common weed of cereal crops and legumes. It germinates in early autumn (October), develops a rosette stage in Novem...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Phytopathologia mediterranea 2009-08, Vol.48 (2), p.205-213
Main Authors: DJÉBALI, Naceur, SCOTT, John K., JOURDAN, Mireille, SOUISSI, Thouraya
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Albugo candida
Alternaria
Ascochyta
Biological control
Carbendazim
Cercospora
Cereals
Cladosporium
Colletotrichum
Crops
Flowering
Fungi
Fungicides
Infection
Inoculation
Legumes
Life cycle
Maturity
Pathogens
Peronospora parasitica
Phoma lingam
Raphanus raphanistrum
RESEARCH PAPERS
Rosette
Seeds
Statistical analysis
Stemphylium
Weeds
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Summary:The distribution and life cycle of wild radish (Raphanus raphanistrum L.) and a survey of the pathogens of this plant are reported for the northern regions of Tunisia. Wild radish is a common weed of cereal crops and legumes. It germinates in early autumn (October), develops a rosette stage in November to December after which stem growth, flowering and pod production occur through to May, with pod maturity completed in June. Fungus isolation from the foliar tissues exhibiting disease symptoms showed that wild radish was infected with the fungi Albugo candida, Alternaria spp. including A. brassicicola, and A. raphani, Erysiphe cruciferarum, Stemphylium herbarum, Peronospora parasitica and Phoma lingam. Ascochyta spp., Cercospora armoraciae, Cladosporium cladosporioides and Colletotrichum higginsianum are here reported from wild radish for the first time. Inoculation tests of pathogens on wild radish plants showed that the most injurious fungi were Alternaria raphani and Phoma lingam. The remaining pathogens were weakly to moderately aggressive on this weed. To access the pathogenic effect of fungi spontaneously infecting natural populations of wild radish, the weed was grown in a field experiment with and without the broad-spectrum systemic fungicide Carbendazim. Results showed a statistically significant two-fold decrease in the number and weight of seed pods in the non-treated plants, indicating that the reproductive potential of wild radish was naturally reduced by fungal infection. Foliar pathogenic fungi have a potential in the integrated weed management of wild radish, this role merits further investigations.
ISSN:0031-9465
1593-2095