First Report of Fusarium verticillioides Causing Pokkah Boeng Disease on Maize in India

HomePlant DiseaseAhead of PrintFirst Report of Fusarium verticillioides Causing Pokkah Boeng Disease on Maize in India PreviousNext DISEASE NOTE OPENOpen Access licenseFirst Report of Fusarium verticillioides Causing Pokkah Boeng Disease on Maize in IndiaSharanappa Ishwarappa Harlapur, Krishnanand Iliger, Shiddappa Ramappa Salakinkop, Sidramappa Channappa Talekar, Rajashekhar Mahantswamy Kachapur, Gurupada Balol, Sanjay Bandu Patil, and Prakash Shivabasappa TippannavarSharanappa Ishwarappa HarlapurUniversity of Agricultural Sciences, Dharwad 580005, Karnataka, IndiaSearch for more papers by this author, Krishnanand IligerUniversity of Agricultural Sciences, Dharwad 580005, Karnataka, IndiaSearch for more papers by this author, Shiddappa Ramappa SalakinkopUniversity of Agricultural Sciences, Dharwad 580005, Karnataka, IndiaSearch for more papers by this author, Sidramappa Channappa Talekar†Corresponding author: S. C. Talekar; E-mail Address: [email protected]https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0119-3284University of Agricultural Sciences, Dharwad 580005, Karnataka, IndiaSearch for more papers by this author, Rajashekhar Mahantswamy KachapurUniversity of Agricultural Sciences, Dharwad 580005, Karnataka, IndiaSearch for more papers by this author, Gurupada BalolUniversity of Agricultural Sciences, Dharwad 580005, Karnataka, IndiaSearch for more papers by this author, Sanjay Bandu PatilUniversity of Agricultural Sciences, Dharwad 580005, Karnataka, IndiaSearch for more papers by this author, and Prakash Shivabasappa TippannavarUniversity of Agricultural Sciences, Dharwad 580005, Karnataka, IndiaSearch for more papers by this authorAffiliationsAuthors and Affiliations Sharanappa Ishwarappa Harlapur Krishnanand Iliger Shiddappa Ramappa Salakinkop Sidramappa Channappa Talekar † Rajashekhar Mahantswamy Kachapur Gurupada Balol Sanjay Bandu Patil Prakash Shivabasappa Tippannavar University of Agricultural Sciences, Dharwad 580005, Karnataka, India Published Online:7 Apr 2023https://doi.org/10.1094/PDIS-08-22-1764-PDNAboutSectionsView articlePDFSupplemental ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack Citations ShareShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditEmailWechat View articleMaize is a widely grown cereal crop in India and ranks third to wheat and rice in production (https://iimr.icar.gov.in). During a field survey in Kharif season in 2018, foliar chlorosis at the base and middle of leaves and twisted top symptoms were observed in 40- to 50-day-old maize plants in Belagavi district, Karnataka, India. During Kharif season in 2021, similar symptoms were observed on commercial maize hybrids and sugarcane at the Agricultural Research Station, Sankeshwar Karnataka. The symptoms resembled pokkah boeng disease of sugarcane (Vishwakarma et al. 2013). Symptomatic sugarcane and maize leaves were sampled, surface sterilized with 1.0% sodium hypochlorite and 70% ethanol, transferred onto potato dextrose agar, and incubated for 10 days at 27 ± 1°C. Fungal growth initiated with white mycelium later turned to pinkish-white with hyaline spores. The morphological features and sporulation patterns of maize and sugarcane samples were similar. Microconidia were formed in long chains and clusters with oval to club-shaped, zero-septate, monophialide-borne microspores. DNA from representative pure culture isolates was extracted using the CTAB protocol (Lee et al. 1988). The ITS region of r-DNA was amplified with ITS1/ITS4 primers and sequenced. BLAST analyses of sequences of maize and sugarcane culture isolates at NCBI database revealed 100% homology with Fusarium verticillioides MK264336 (Lin et al. 2016). PCR amplification with F. verticillioides-specific primers VER1/VER2 (Mule et al. 2004) confirmed the species. CBS-KNAW Fungal Biodiversity Centre’s Fusarium MLST database also revealed over 98.89% homology with F. verticillioides (NRRL 46612). The fungal isolates were named F. verticillioides maize isolate SNK 01 (ON110289) and F. verticillioides sugarcane isolate SNK 01 (ON564879), and their sequences were deposited in GenBank. To test pathogenicity, artificial inoculation using maize isolate SNK 01 and cross-inoculation of sugarcane isolate SNK 01 were done on 10 maize plants by spraying a conidial suspension (2 × 106 conidia ml−1) on nonwounded leaves. Plants sprayed with sterile water were used as a control. After 10 days, typical pokkah boeng symptoms were observed in the plants inoculated with both maize and sugarcane isolates. Diseased leaves turned pale yellowish green with small brown spots and a chlorotic appearance, and these developed into stripes. Wrinkling of leaves was noticed followed by splitting and rotting. No symptoms were noticed in the water-treated control. The pathogens reisolated from diseased plants inoculated with maize and sugarcane isolates were similar morphologically and identical to the original isolates, fulfilling Koch’s postulates. F. verticillioides has been known to cause postflowering stalk rot in maize. However, this is the first report of pokkah boeng disease on maize in India caused by F. verticillioides. Considering the economic value of the maize crop, this identification can help to develop appropriate disease management strategies to control the disease.The author(s) declare no conflict of interest.References:Lee, S. B., et al. 1988. Fungal Genet. Newsl. 35:23. Google ScholarLin, Z., et al. 2016. Sci. Rep. 6:29692. https://doi.org/10.1038/srep29692 Crossref, Google ScholarMule, G., et al. 2004. Eur. J. Plant Path. 110:495. https://doi.org/10.1023/B:EJPP.0000032389.84048.71 Crossref, ISI, Google ScholarVishwakarma, S. K., et al. 2013. J. Plant Pathol. Microb. 4:170. https://doi.org/10.4172/2157-7471.1000170 Google ScholarThe author(s) declare no conflict of interest.DetailsFiguresLiterature CitedRelated Just PublishedSubscribeISSN:0191-2917e-ISSN:1943-7692 Metrics Article History Published: 7 Apr 2023First Look: 15 Sep 2022Accepted: 13 Sep 2022 Information© 2023 The American Phytopathological SocietyKeywordsFusarium verticillioidesmaizepokkah boengThe author(s) declare no conflict of interest.PDF download