Influence of Crop Residue Decomposition Products on the Germination of Fusarium solani f. phaseoli Chlamydospores in Soil

Abstract

Fusarium solani f. phaseoli, the cause of stem and root rot of bean, has been shown to exist in nature primarily in the form of chlamydospores¹. Such chlamydospores germinate on the addition of various sugars or amino-acids but not ordinarily when water alone is used¹. The chlamydospores have also been shown to germinate in the presence of exudates of the host and various other plants^2,3. Evidence is presented here to show that substances produced during the decomposition of crop residues under natural field conditions can also influence the germination of chlamydospores in the absence of exudates from living plants.