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ARS Home » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #213586
Title: Stalk rot of sugar beet caused by Fusarium solani on the Pacific coast.

Author
item Hanson, Linda
item Lewellen, Robert

Submitted to: Plant Disease
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/17/2007
Publication Date: 9/1/2007
Citation: Hanson, L.E., Lewellen, R.T. 2007. Stalk rot of sugar beet caused by Fusarium solani on the Pacific coast. Plant Disease. 91:1204.

Interpretive Summary: An isolate of Fusarium solani was found to be able to cause stalk blight symptoms in sugar beet seed stalks. Symptoms caused by F. solani were less severe than those caused by an isolate of the known stalk blight pathogen, Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. betae, but were severe enough to cause loss of the seed stalk in some cases. Resistance has been developed for stalk blight caused by Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. betae. It is not known whether this resistance will be effective against other species.

Technical Abstract: Fusarium stalk blight can cause loss of seed production in sugar beet. The only known causal agent is Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. betae. In 2006, plants that had been grown as stecklings in Oregon and planted in the greenhouse in California for seed production showed symptoms of stalk blight. In addition to isolates of Fusarium oxysporum, isolates of F. solani were obtained from one line of beets with stalk blight symptoms. One of the two F. solani isolates collected caused dark lesions and rot of the seed stalk on a susceptible sugar beet germplasm in greenhouse tests. The lesions were smaller with the F. solani isolate than with an isolate of F. oxysporum known to cause stalk blight. To our knowledge, this is the first report of F. solani causing beet seed stalk blight.