Occurrence of Charcoal Rot Caused by Macrophomina phaseolina on Canola in Argentina.

Canola (Brassica napus) is an important oleaginous crop in Argentina. Approximately 16,000 ha are grown commercially in the southern region of Buenos Aires Province. In 2003, typical symptoms and signs of charcoal rot were observed on canola plants in experimental plots located at the School of Agricultural Sciences, University of Buenos Aires in Buenos Aires. Average disease incidence across three 5- to 6-month-old plants (cvs. Monty, Rivette, and Trooper) was 12% (range = 7 to 17%). Affected plants appeared in patches following the rows at pod-filling stage. Symptoms included wilted foliage, premature senescence, and death of plants. Black, spherical microsclerotia 78 to 95 μm in diameter were present in vascular tissue of basal stems and taproots. The affected plants were stunted and had unfilled pods. In advanced phases of the disease, areas of silver gray-to-black discoloration were observed in the stem cortex; many plants were killed during late-grain fill, and plants could be pulled easily from the ground because basal stems were shredded. Four samples consisting of five symptomatic plants per sample were randomly collected from experimental plots. Pieces (1-cm long) taken from taproots and basal stems of diseased plants were surface sterilized with 1% NaOCl for 2 min and then placed on potato dextrose agar (PDA). Plates were incubated in the dark at 26°C for 4 days and then exposed to 12-h NUV light/12-h dark for 6 days. Five resulting isolates were identified as Macrophomina phaseolina (Tassi) Goidanich (1) based on the gray color of the colony and the presence of microsclerotia 71 to 94 μm in diameter. Two colonies developed globose pycnidia with one-celled, hyaline, and elliptic conidia. Pathogenicity tests were conducted using four inoculated and three non-inoculated control plants potted in a sterilized soil mix (soil/sand, 3:1) in a greenhouse at 25°C and 75% relative humidity with no supplemental light. Crown inoculations were carried out by placing a disk taken from an actively growing culture of M. phaseolina into wounds made with a sterile scalpel. Control plants received disks of sterile PDA. Inoculated and control plants were covered with polyethylene bags for 48 h after inoculation. Three isolates caused disease on 7-week-old canola plants (cvs. Master, Mistral, Rivette, and Trooper). Characteristic symptoms similar to the original observations developed for all three isolates within 21 days after inoculation on 80% of inoculated plants. The pathogen was successfully reisolated from diseased stem tissue in all instances. Symptoms included leaf necrosis, stunting, decay and collapse of seedlings, and plant death. Control plants remained asymptomatic. The experiment was repeated once with similar results. To our knowledge, this is the first report of the occurrence of M. phaseolina causing charcoal rot on canola in Argentina. This pathogen has been previously reported in the United States (2,3). The results demonstrate the potential importance of this pathogen in Argentina, since two commercial cultivars (Master and Mistral) were apparently susceptible to M. phaseolina. More studies are needed to determine the presence of charcoal rot in canola-growing areas of Argentina. References: (1) Anonymous. Macrophomina phaseolina. No. 275 in: Descriptions of Plant Pathogenic Fungi and Bacteria. CMI, Kew, Surrey, UK, 1970. (2) R. E. Baird et al. Plant Dis. 78:316, 1994. (3) D. F. Farr et al. Fungi on Plants and Plant Products in the United States. The American Phytopathological Society, St. Paul, MN, 1989.