Intercropping has been considered as a kind of a sustainable agricultural cropping system. In southwest China, maize/soybean strip intercropping has commonly been practised under local limited agricultural land resources. However, heavy rainfall in combination with high humidity and low temperatures cause severe pod and seed deterioration in the maturity and pre-harvesting stages of intercropped soybean. Numerous Fusarium species have been reported as the dominant pathogens of soybean root rot, seedling blight, as well as pod field mold in this area. However, the diversity and pathogenicity of Fusarium species on soybean pods remain unclear. In the current study, diseased soybean pods were collected during the cropping season of 2018 from five different intercropped soybean producing areas. A total of 83 Fusarium isolates were isolated and identified as F. fujikuroi, F. graminearum, F. proliferatum, and F. incarnatum-equiseti species complex based on morphological characteristics and phylogenetic analysis of the nucleotide sequence of EF1-α and RPB2 genes. Pathogenicity tests demonstrated that all Fusarium species were pathogenic to seeds of the intercropped soybean cultivar Nandou12. Fusarium fujikuroi had the maximum disease severity, with a significant reduction of seed germination rate, root length, and seed weight, followed by F. equiseti, F. graminearum, F. proliferatum, and F. incarnatum. Additionally, the diversity of Fusarium species on soybean pods was also considerably distinct according to the geographical origin and soybean varieties. Thus, the findings of the current study will be helpful for the management and resistance breeding of soybean pod decay in the maize/soybean intercropping system.

Grapes (Vitis vinifera L.), one of the most valuable fruit crops in Pakistan, are grown primarily for fresh consumption. A survey of postharvest diseases was conducted during 2015-16 and 2016-17 in fruit packaging houses in Jhelum (32°56'22.3"N 73°43'31.4"E) and Chakwal (32°56'01.5"N 72°50'37.1"E) Districts of Punjab province. Prevalence of fruit rot was 100% after 3 to 5 days of post-harvest storage. Initial symptoms occurred mainly on wounded berries; fruit skin turned reddish brown, followed by lesion expansion and development of blue-green sporulation with white margins on the surface of lesions. Excised tissue segments (3 to 5 mm3) at the margins of lesions on 200 selected symptomatic berries were surface disinfected with 2% sodium hypochlorite for 1 min, rinsed three times in sterile distilled water, and blotted dry for 45 seconds. Disinfected segments were placed on Czapek yeast agar (CYA) and incubated at 25 ± 2°C. After one week, two different types of fungal colonies appeared. One type initially...

In July 2016, a severe fruit rot was observed on table grapes (Vitis vinifera L.) from fruit packing houses in the Rawalpindi district (33°38'19.2"N 73°01'45.0"E) of Punjab province, Pakistan. Prevalence of fruit rot was recorded as 100% after 3 to 5 days of post-harvest storage at ambient temperatures. During survey, dark grey to black mycelium was observed on the surface of the berries and rapidly expanded to entire bunches. A total of 200 symptomatic berries were surface sterilized with 1% sodium hypochlorite for 2 min, then rinsed three times with sterile distilled water and dried on filter paper for 45 sec. Excised pieces of sterile tissue (4 mm2) at lesion margins were transferred to potato dextrose agar (PDA) and incubated at 25 ± 2°C. After 3 to 5 days, fungal colonies were dark olivaceous green with light brown margins, velvety, appressed, and cottony at the center. Conidiophores were septate, bent or sometimes branched, 25.6 to 55.4 μm long and 2.5 to 3.6 μm wide. Conidia were borne singly or in...

In August 2015 & 16, rotted grapes (about 15 % of the total) of cv. Taiffi were observed in commercial fruit markets located in Jhelum (32°56′22.3″N, 73°43′31.4″E) and Rawalpindi (33°38′19.2″N, 73°...

Fusarium graminearum is the most devastating pathogen of Fusarium head blight of cereals, stalk and ear of maize, and it has recently become a potential threat for soybean as maize-soybean strip relay intercropping is widely practiced in China. To elucidate the pathogenesis mechanism of F. graminearum on intercropped soybean which causes root rot, transcriptional profiling of F. graminearum at 12, 24, and 48 h post-inoculation (hpi) on soybean hypocotyl tissues was conducted. In total, 2313 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) of F. graminearum were annotated by both KEGG pathway and Gene Ontology (GO) analysis. Among them, 128 DEGs were commonly expressed at three inoculation time points while the maximum DEGs were induced at 24 hpi. In addition, DEGs were also rich in carbon metabolism, ribosome and peroxisome pathways which might contribute to carbon source utilization, sexual reproduction, virulence and survival of F. graminearum when infected on soybean. Hence, this study will provide some basis for the deep understanding the pathogenesis mechanism of F. graminearum on different hosts and its effective control in maize-soybean strip relay intercropping systems.

Evidence of fruit rot disease was observed in twelve bell pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) fields located in the Chakwal district (32°56′00′′N, 72°51′30′′ E) of Pakistan during the period June 2016 to 2017. Disease incidence was estimated to be between 15% and 24%. Yield loss in affected fields was estimated as 11%. Symptoms of disease were seen as water soaked, discolored necrotic lesions predominantly around the calyx. There were also symptoms of internal rot as seeds and the inner fruit surface were covered with white to light gray fungal growth. In the case of severe disease symptoms, fungal growth was also observed externally at the calyx end. The disease progressed as a soft decay with leakage. Diseased fruits were cut into 5 mm² pieces, surface-disinfested with 1% NaOCl for 2 minutes, rinsed thrice with sterile distilled water, and incubated on Potato Dextrose Agar (PDA) at 25±2°C for 3-4 days under continuous fluorescent light. Eighteen isolates of similar morphology were purified using the hyphal tip ...