Vol. 6, Issue 11 (2017)

Author(s):
S Ashwathi, C Ushamalini, S Parthasarathy and S Nakkeeran

Abstract:
Damping-off caused by several soilborne fungi and oomycetes is dangerous threatening disease affecting coriander plants in India and presumably in many other countries. The objective of the present investigation was to characterize the pathogen morphologically in vitro and to confirm the pathogenicity of Pythium aphanidermatum isolated from several coriander growing regions of Tamil Nadu, India. Pathogenic P. aphanidermatum isolates were characterized using molecular methods based on ITS-PCR. Based on the morphological and molecular characters, all tested isolates were confirmed as Pythium aphanidermatum. According to the pathogenic test done on young coriander plants under glasshouse conditions, all the isolates of P. aphanidermatum were found to be pathogenic in nature. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first work that shows that P. aphanidermatum might be a major agent causing damping-off disease of coriander plants in India.