Effects of Soil Physical Factors on Resistance in Beans to Fusarium Root Rot. D. E. Miller, Research Soil Scientist, Soil and Water Management and Vegetable Crops Production, Agriculture Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Prosser, WA 99350. D. W. Burke, Research Plant Pathologist, Soil and Water Management and Vegetable Crops Production, Agriculture Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Prosser, WA 99350. Plant Dis. 69:324-327. Accepted for publication 9 October 1984. This article is in the public domain and not copyrightable. It may be freely reprinted with customary crediting of the source. The American Phytopathological Society, 1985. DOI: 10.1094/PD-69-324.

Growth room studies were conducted to determine the responses of dry bean cultivars differing in levels of genetic resistance to Fusarium solani f. sp. phaseoli as affected by stresses caused by low soil oxygen, low temperature, soil compaction, and low water potentials when grown in Fusarium-infested soil. The responses of a susceptible (Red Mexican UI-36), a moderately resistant (Gloria Pink), and a resistant (NY-2114-12) cultivar were compared. Root rot resistance inherent in cultivars Gloria Pink and NY-2114-12 was effective in well-aerated soil but was largely overcome by short periods of poor soil aeration. Resistant cultivar NY-2114-12 compensated for impeded root penetration more than the susceptible cultivars by increasing root growth above the impedance.