Identification of Fusarium spp., the casual agents of lentil wilt, damping off and root rot diseases and comparison of their pathogenicity in Fars province, Iran

This study was conducted to identification of Fusarium spp. as casual agents of lentil wilt, damping off and root rot diseases and comparison of their pathogenicity in Fars province during growing seasons of 007-008. Lentil fields with yellowing and wilting symptoms were visited and samples were collected from which totally 6 isolates of Fusarium spp. were obtained. Isolates then were identified and accomodated in five species of Fusarium oxysporum, F. solani, F. equiseti, F. avenaceum and F. sambucinum with 6.7,, 8., and. percent frequencies, respectively. This was the first report of F. avenaceum in lentil fields of Iran. Pathogenicity test was conducted and disease severity were rated according to the scale proposed for Fusarium diseases of lentil. The results indicated that F. oxysporum was the most important pathogenic species in the lentil farms of Fars province.