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Temperature Response of Chickpea Cultivars to Races of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. ciceris, Causal Agent of Fusarium Wilt

Use of resistant cultivars and adjustment of sowing dates are important measures for management of Fusarium wilt in chickpeas (Cicer arietinum). In this study, we examined the effect of temperature on resistance of chickpea cultivars to Fusarium wilt caused by various races of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. ciceris. Greenhouse experiments indicated that the chickpea cultivar Ayala was moderately resistant to F. oxysporum f. sp. ciceris when inoculated plants were maintained at a day/night temperature regime of 24/21°C but was highly susceptible to the pathogen at 27/25°C. Field experiments in Israel over three consecutive years indicated that the high level of resistance of Ayala to Fusarium wilt when sown in mid- to late January differed from a moderately susceptible reaction under warmer temperatures when sowing was delayed to late February or early March. Experiments in growth chambers showed that a temperature increase of 3°C from 24 to 27°C was sufficient for the resistance reaction of cultivars Ayala and PV-1 to race 1A of the pathogen to shift from moderately or highly resistant at constant 24°C to highly susceptible at 27°C. A similar but less pronounced effect was found when Ayala plants were inoculated with F. oxysporum f. sp. ciceris race 6. Conversely, the reaction of cultivar JG-62 to races 1A and 6 was not influenced by temperature, but less disease developed on JG-62 plants inoculated with a variant of race 5 of F. oxysporum f. sp. ciceris at 27°C compared with plants inoculated at 24°C. These results indicate the importance of appropriate adjustment of temperature in tests for characterizing the resistance reactions of chickpea cultivars to the pathogen, as well as when determining the races of isolates of F. oxysporum f. sp. ciceris. Results from this study may influence choice of sowing date and use of chickpea cultivars for management of Fusarium wilt of chickpea.