Survival of Phoma koolunga, a causal agent of ascochyta blight, on field pea stubble or as pseudosclerotia in soil

Abstract

Phoma koolunga is a recently recognized pathogen in the ascochyta blight complex of field pea (Pisum sativum). Unlike the other three ascochyta blight pathogens, survival of P. koolunga is poorly understood. Survival of this fungus was examined on field pea stubble and as pseudosclerotia on the surface of, and buried in, field soil. Pseudosclerotia were formed in plates containing potato dextrose agar (PDA) mixed with sand or amended with fluorocytocin. After 1 month, P. koolunga was recovered on amended PDA from 93% of stubble sections retrieved from the soil surface, 36% of buried stubble sections and 100% of pseudosclerotia buried in field soil, pasteurized or not. The frequency of recovery of P. koolunga decreased over time and the fungus was not recovered from stubble on the soil surface at 15 months, nor was it recovered from stubble buried in soil at 11 months or later, or from pseudosclerotia buried for 18 months. In a pot bioassay, most ascochyta blight lesions developed on plants inoculated with stubble retrieved from the soil surface after 1 month. Infectivity of the inoculum decreased over time. Disease on plants inoculated with stubble that had been buried or left on the soil surface for up to 6 and 5 months, respectively, and pseudosclerotia retrieved at 14 months and later from field soil did not differ from the non-inoculated control. These results suggest that field pea stubble may play a role in survival of P. koolunga, especially if it remains on the soil surface. In addition, pseudosclerotia were able to persist in soil and infect field pea plants into the next season.