Populations of the spinach wilt pathogen, Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. spinaciae, in the root tissues, rhizosphere, and soil in the field.
Populations of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. spinaciae in root tissues and rhizosphere soil of diseased spinach plants were higher than in the root tissues and rhizosphere soil of healthy plants. Populations in soil rhizosphere were higher than in nonrhizosphere soil. The fungus populations were very low in the root tissues of the nonsusceptible strawberry, broccoli, chinese cabbage, and mustard grown in the infested field. The populations were low at the beginning of the season, increased, and remained high during the summer, then dropped in the fall. The fungus populations ranged from 1600 to 2600 propagules/g in the top 10 cm of soil, declined sharply between 11 and 20 cm, and were nondetectable between 41 and 60 cm.
D005670:Fusarium / Q000254:growth & development*; D010935:Plant Diseases; D010944:Plants / Q000382:microbiology*; D012621:Seasons; D012988:Soil Microbiology; D013045:Species Specificity