Unveiling the Hidden Enemies: Morphological and Molecular Characterization of Pod Rot Pathogens in Groundnut (Arachis hypogea L.) in India
Sahana R *
Department of Plant Pathology, SVAC Tirupati, ANGRAU, India.
Viswanath K
Department of Plant Pathology, RARS Tirupati, India.
Manjula
Department of Plant Pathology, CoA, UAS Raichur, India.
Nagamani P
Department of Plant Pathology, ARS Podalakur, Nellore, India.
Archana B. R
Department of Agricultural Entomology, CoA, UAS Raichur, India.
Kalpana
Department of Agricultural Entomology, University of Agricultural Sciences Dharwad, Karnataka, India.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Pod rot of groundnut is a complex disease caused by multiple pathogens causes significant economic losses. Present study was undertaken to know the pathogens associated with the disease. In Chittoor, Andhra Pradesh, roving survey against pod rot of groundnut revealed association of three fungal species: Sclerotium rolfsii, Rhizoctonia bataticola and Fusarium spp. Molecular analysis with modified CTAB method and performing PCR using ITS1 and ITS4 primers yielded DNA bands of 650-700 bp, 550-600 bp, and 500-600 bp for Sclerotium, Rhizoctonia and Fusarium species, respectively. Sequencing of the rDNA ITS region confirmed the identities of the pathogens as Sclerotium rolfsii, Rhizoctonia bataticola, Fusarium solani, Fusarium oxysporum, and Fusarium keratoplasticum, based on similarity with NCBI reference sequences. This study confirms that Sclerotium rolfsii, Rhizoctonia bataticola and Fusarium spp. are the primary causal agents of pod rot disease in Andhra Pradesh.
Keywords: Scleroium rolfsii, Rhizoctonia bataticola, Fusarium solani, Fusarium oxysporum and Fusarium keratoplasticum, Charaterization