Disease Note

First Report of Verticillium Wilt of Alfalfa in Kansas. D. L. Stuteville, Department of Plant Pathology, Kansas State University, Manhattan 66506. W. G. Willis, J. A. Houfek Christensen, and T. Sim IV, Department of Plant Pathology, Kansas State University, Manhattan 66506. Plant Dis. 70:475. Accepted for publication 2 January 1986. Copyright 1986 The American Phytopathological Society. DOI: 10.1094/PD-70-475b.

Verticillium albo-atrum Reinke & Berth, was isolated in May 1985 from dying alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) shoots from a 9-yr-old stand in Gray County, Kansas. Pathogenicity of the isolates was confirmed by completion of Koch's postulates. The fungus did not grow at 30 C. In September 1985, Verticillium wilt was confirmed in southwestern Kansas in five fields in Gray County and one in Finney County. Symptoms typical of Verticillium wilt were observed on plants distributed uniformly throughout the affected fields, all of which were sprinkler-irrigated. The affected stands were 4–10 yr old. The fields are located just below 38º latitude and, to our knowledge, this is the first report of Verticillium wilt of alfalfa below 40º latitude in the United States or Europe.