IDENTIFICATION AND CONTROL OF THE CAUSAL AGENT OF ROOT AND STEM ROT IN CUCUMBER PLANTS GROWN IN OPEN SANDY SOIL
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.36103/zs87mz29Keywords:
fusarium redolens, PCR, rotting fungal disease, silicon, ureaAbstract
This study was conducted to identify the causal agent of root and stem rot in cucumber plants grown in open sandy soil and to control it both in the laboratory and in the field using silicon and urea. The isolation and diagnosis results revealed 39 isolates associated with the disease, including the fungus Fusarium redolens. Molecular diagnosis of the most Aggressive Isolate , FR342a and FR342b, confirmed their identification as F. redolens with 100% match to global isolates. Laboratory results showed that silicon-amended culture media at concentrations of 2%, 4%, and 6% inhibited the growth of the pathogenic fungal F.redolens colony by 66-100%. where the concentration of 4%, 6% superiority with inhibition rate of 100%. In contrast, urea -amended culture media at concentrations of 0.4%, 0.6% and 0.8% achieved 100% inhibition of fungal F.redolens growth. In the field, the 4% silicon treatment was most effective, reducing disease severity to 42.65% followed by the 0.6% urea treatment, which reduced disease severity to 45.82%. All treatments provided effective disease control and positively impacted growth parameters, including branch length, number of branches, fruit count, fruit weight, and the wet and dry weights of the root system.
Received: 22/8/2024
Accepted: 27/11/2024
Published: 30/6/2026
References
Abdullah, B.A. and Kareem, T.A., (2021). The Ability of grafited watermelon on squash rootstocks in resistance against the infection with Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. niveum and Fusarium solani in Iraq. Plant Archives, 21(1), 1692-1698. https://doi.org/10.51470/PLANTARCHIVES.2021.v21.S1.267. DOI: https://doi.org/10.51470/PLANTARCHIVES.2021.v21.S1.267
Al-Ani, B. A. S. (2023). The Efficiency of Some Chemical and Biological Factors in Protecting Watermelon Plants from Infection with the Fungus Fusarium solani. (M. Sc. thesis, University of Baghdad, College of Agricultural Engineering Sciences, Department of Plant Protection).
Almaghasla, M. I., S. M. El-Ganainy, & A. M. Ismail. (2023). Biological activity of four Trichoderma species confers protection against Rhizoctonia solani, the causal agent of cucumber damping-off and root rot diseases. Sustainability, 15(9), 7250. https:// doi.org/10.3390/su15097250. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/su15097250
Castellano-Hinojosa, A. ; Boyd, N. S. & Strauss, S. L. (2022). Impact of fumigants on non-target soil microorganisms: A review. Journal of Hazardous Materials, 5(427), 128149. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2021.128149. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2021.128149
Dahal, K., Li, X., & Zhao, X. (2023). Integrated nutrient management improves potato yield and enhances resistance to late blight disease under field conditions. Frontiers in Plant Science, 14, 1189456. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2023.1189456 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2023.1287825
Ekwomadu, T.I. and Mwanza, M. (2023). Fusarium fungi pathogens, identification, adverse effects, disease management, and global food security: A review of the latest research. Agriculture, 13(9), 1810. https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture13091810. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture13091810
FAOSTAT. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. (2022). Crop Production Data. Available online at https:// www.fao.org/faostat/en/#data/QCL.
Hassan, K. M., R. Ajaj, A. N. Abdelhamid, M. Ebrahim, I. F. Hassan, F. A. S. Hassan, S. M. Alam-Eldein, & m. A. A. Ali. (2024). Silicon: a powerful aid for medicinal and aromatic plants against Abiotic and Biotic Stresses for sustainable agriculture. Horticulturae, 10(8), 806. https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae10080806. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae10080806
Homa, M., L. Galgóczy, P. Manikandan, & V. Narendran. (2018). South Indian isolates of the Fusarium solani Species complex from clinical and environmental samples: identification, antifungal susceptibilities, and virulence. Frontiers in Microbiology, 9(1), 42-52. https:// doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2018.01052. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2018.01052
Hussein, A. H., & H. Z. Hussein. (2024). Study of the effect of regular and secondary urea in inhibiting the growth of Aspergillus flavus and reducing aflatoxin B1 production in vitro. Arab Journal of Plant Protection, 42(2), 184-188. https://doi.org/10.22268/AJPP-001235 DOI: https://doi.org/10.22268/AJPP-001235
Kareem, T. A., A. K. Hassan, R. A. Naemah, & M. Alsamir. (2020). Morphological and molecular characteristics of fungal isolates causing onion neck rot disease. Biochemical & Cellular Archives, 20(1), 403-408. https:// doi:10.35124/bca.2020.20.1.403.
Kumar, S., G. Stecher, & K. Tamura. (2015). MEGA7: Molecular Evolutionary Genetics Analysis Version 7.0 for Bigger Datasets. Molecular Biology and Evolution (submitted),33(7),1870–1874. https://doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msw054. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msw054
Leslie, J. F., & B. A. Summerell, eds. (2006). The fusarium laboratory manual. blackwell publishing, Ames, IA: 1-388. https://doi.org/987654321 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/9780470278376
Liu, M., Linna, C., Ma, S., Ma, Q., Song, W., Shen, M., Song, L., Cui, K., Zhou, Y., & Wang, L. (2022). Biochar combined with organic and inorganic fertilizers promoted rapeseed nutrient uptake and improved purple soil quality. Frontiers in Nutrition, 9, 997151. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnut.2022.997151 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fnut.2022.997151
Murphy, J. B., J. McFerran, & M. J. Good. (1984). The effect of genotype and ethephon on Rhizoctonia soil rot of processing tomatoes. HortScience, 19(5), 676-677. DOI:10.21273/HORTSCI.19.5.676. DOI: https://doi.org/10.21273/HORTSCI.19.5.676
Omar, B., & Jasim, N. (2021). Estimating the technical efficiency of the cucumber crop under different techniques: A translog stochastic frontier analysis. Russian Journal of Agricultural and Socio-Economic Sciences, 120(12), 164-178. https://doi.org/10.18551/rjoas.2021-12.17 DOI: https://doi.org/10.18551/rjoas.2021-12.17
Rampersad, S. N. (2020). Pathogenomics and management of Fusarium diseases in plants. Pathogens, 9(5), 340. https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens9050340. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens9050340
Roy, K. W., J. C. Rupe, D. E. Hershman, & T. S. Abney. (1997). Sudden death syndrome of soybean. Plant Disease, 81, 1100-1111. https://doi.org/10.1094/PDIS.1997.81.10.1100. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1094/PDIS.1997.81.10.1100
Sharma, S. (2020). Impacts of nitrogen on plant disease severity and plant defense mechanism. Fundamental and Applied Agriculture, 5(3), 303-314. https://doi.org/10.5455/faa.103334 . DOI: https://doi.org/10.5455/faa.103334
Sun, L., S. Song, L. Fu, X. Deng, D. Wang, X. Liang, et al. (2015). Exploring a soil fumigation strategy based on ammonium bicarbonate to control Fusarium wilts of cucurbits. crop Protection, 70, 53-60. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cropro.2015.01.004 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cropro.2015.01.004
Sun, S., Z. Yang, Z. Song, N. Wang, N. Guo, J. Niu, & S. Chen. (2022). Silicon enhances plant resistance to Fusarium wilt by promoting antioxidant potential and photosynthetic capacity in cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.). Frontiers in Plant Science, 13, 1011859. https:// doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2022.1011859. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2022.1011859
Verma, K. K., Song, X. P., Liang, Q., Huang, H. R., Bhatt, R., Xu, L., et al. (2024). Unlocking the role of silicon against biotic stress in plants. Frontiers in Plant Science, 15, 1430804. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2024.1430804 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2024.1430804
Xue, X., Geng, T., Liu, H., Yang, W., Zhong, W., Zhang, Z., et al. (2021). Foliar application of silicon enhances resistance against Phytophthora infestans through the ET/JA-and NPR1-dependent signaling pathways in potato. Frontiers in Plant Science, 12, 609870. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2022.1011859. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2021.609870
Zhang, S., T. L. White, M. C. Martinez, J. A. Mclnroy, J. W. Kloepper, & W. Klassen. (2010). Evaluation of plant growth–promoting rhizobacteria for control of phytophthora blight on squash under greenhouse conditions. Biological Control, 53, 129-135. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocontrol.2009.10.015 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocontrol.2009.10.015
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Zainab A. Hashim, Tareq A. Kareem
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
2.jpg)
