Study on interaction between root-knot nematode Meloidogyne javanica and wilt fungus Verticillium dahliae on olive seedlings in greenhouse.

Verticillium dahliae has been reported as a limiting factor in cotton, olive, potato and tomato fields from several countries in the world. Root-knot nematodes Meloidogyne javanica causes considerable damage to olive groves in olive growing areas. Since the presence of these two pathogens in olive trees and seedlings were confirmed in Golestan Province, this study was proposed to find the mode of their action and interaction with olive seedlings in greenhouse. The non-defoliant strain of the fungus (SS-4) was isolated from olive groves showing symptom in Golestan Province. M. javanica was also recovered from the infested olive seedlings. After species identification, it was reared on tomato seedlings var. Rutgers. The larvae were used as a source of inoculum. Conidia and microsclerotia of V. dahliae were used as a source of inoculum for pathogenesis in this study. Stem cuttings of olive cultivar Zard were transplanted in different sets of pots containing 720 ml. of sterilized loamy soil and sandy soil. Experiment was conducted in Completely Randomized Design with 6 treatments and 8 replicates including control, nematode alone, fungus alone, nematode and fungus simultaneously, nematode and fungus concomitantly, fungus two weeks prior to nematode, nematode and fungus concomitantly, nematode two weeks prior to fungus. Pots were inoculated with 1500 larvae of nematodes and 7200 microsclerotia of V. dahliae. Experiment was terminated after 9 months and following parameters were determined i.e. fresh weight of roots, number of galls and females, per root system and discoloration of leaf and root tissues. Presence of nematode prior to fungus caused reduction in colonization of fungus in the roots and the stems and vis presence of fungus prior to nematode caused reduction in number of galls produced by nematode. Sever symptom on aerial parts of plant was observed when both pathogens were inoculated simultaneously. However fresh weight of roots was reduced in all treatments. Galling and population density in root system were higher in pots filled with sandy soil than in loamy soil, but fungal colonization in roots and stems was much more in seedlings grown in loamy soil and diseases symptoms in aerial parts of plants were much severe in plants grown in loamy soil than in pots with sandy soil.