First report of Fusarium equiseti-the incitant of post flowering stalkrot of maize (Zea mays L.) in India

Maize (Zea mays L.) is one of the important cereal crops in the world and is the third largest grown cereal crop in India. Field surveys conducted in 2013-15 recorded stalk rot incidence of 28-35% in southern states of India. The typical symptoms were observed after pollination with the drying of the lower leaves and eventually entire plant wilted prematurely, lower internodes turned in to grey-green color and stalks are hollow and weak leading to the lodging of the plant. Stalk rot associated pathogen was isolated on PDA medium. Out of 219 Fusarium isolates, 19 were distinct and the fungal colonies on PDA medium showed the development of pale brown to dark brown pigment. Macro conidia were produced in orange sporodochia from monophialides on branched conidiophores with apical cells tapered and elongated. Chlamydospores were solitary and intercalary. All 19 isolates were morphologically identical, and a representative isolate was used for molecular identification. The ITS rDNA and TEF gene were amplified and sequenced using ITS1/ITS4, TEF1/TEF2primer pairs. The nBLAST search and phylogenetic analysis confirmed that the pathogen was Fusarium equiseti. Pathogenicity tests conducted on 50-day-old maize plants by injecting conidial suspension of F. equiseti produced typical stalk rot symptoms after 15 days of post-inoculation and the pathogen's identity was confirmed by cultural and morphological features after re-isolation. Association of F. equiseti as the causal agent of sheath rot of maize was reported from China. The association of F. equiseti with stalk rot of maize is the first report in India