Abstract
To study etiology and variation of pea blight disease syndrome and characterization of pathogen Ascochyta spp. associated with disease complex, a total of forty-one pea blight symptoms including leaf spot, leaf blight and pod spot and foot rot were collected from the major pea-growing regions in Punjab. Among the 41 test isolates, 30 isolates were identified as pathogenic on pea plants and produced characteristic disease symptoms. The classification of the isolates was accomplished using morpho-cultural characteristics such as pycnidial formation and distribution, sectoring and crystal formation, size of pycniospores, number of septa and septum constriction, growth rate and sporulation intensity the isolates. The principal component analysis based on morpho-cultural data revealed three distinct groups of isolates that were taxonomically categorized into 3 species, viz., Ascochyta (Didymella) pisi, Ascochyta pinodes and Phoma pinodella (Ascohcyta pinodella). The rDNA sequencing of ITS region of isolates corresponded well with morphological and cultural characteristics and allowed to differentiate Ascochyta (Didymella) pisi from A. pinodes and Phoma pinodella. On the basis of ITS1 and ITS4 regions, the latter two species did not exhibit variation and were not differentiated. The identity of test isolates was established using a combination of morpho-cultural traits, symptomatology and phylogenetic analysis. The study established three species, the most frequent of which was, Didymella pinodes (A. pinodes) that was linked to leaf blight and pod spot symptoms followed by Phoma pinodella, which was linked to foot rot and Ascochyta pisi, the least common among all was associated with leaf spot symptoms. This is the first study to identify the three distinct pathogen species responsible for pea blight in Punjab with the dominance of D. pinodes.
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Anjali, Jain, S., Jindal, V. et al. Study of etiology and variation of pea blight disease complex caused by Ascochyta species in Northwestern alluvial plains of India. Indian Phytopathology 77, 43–50 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42360-023-00693-y
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s42360-023-00693-y