Morphological and Molecular Identification of Fusarium tricinctum Causing Fruit Rot of Pumpkin (Cucurbita pepo) in Iraq
A.H. Thanoon
Department of Plant Protection, College of Agriculture and Forestry, University of Mosul, Mosul, Iraq. Email of corresponding author: dr.alithanoon@uomosul.edu.iq
Received: 18/1/2023; Accepted: 26/6/2023
https://doi.org/10.22268/AJPP-001241
Abstract
In November 2019, samples of pumpkin fruits with rotting symptoms after harvest were collected from farmers’ stores. The causative fungus was isolated from infected pumpkin fruits. Based on morphological traits, Koch’s hypotheses and molecular diagnostic tests were employed to confirm the infection and identify the causal agent. Molecular diagnosis using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) confirmed the identity of the causal fungus. The results of electrophoresis using a 2% agarose gel showed the presence of a 550 bp band. The ITS sequences were found to be homologous. to that of Fusarium tricinctum in GenBank database with a similarity ratio of 99%. GenBank assigned the number MH859948 to the Iraqi isolate. This is the first record of F. tricinctum that causes post-harvest pumpkin rot in Iraq.
Keywords
Pumpkin fruit rot, postharvest diseases, Fusarium tricinctum.