INCIDENCE OF MAJOR FUNGAL ROOT DISEASES OF CHICKPEA IN LAYYAH AND BHAKKAR DISTRICTS OF PUNJAB, PAKISTAN

Abstract

Root diseases either soil or seed borne poses serious implications on seed germination and subsequently on the plant developmental stages. The attack of root diseases in earlier stages of the crop completely destroys the crop resulting in unrecoverable losses. This study was designed to evaluate the prevalence, incidence and severity of major fungal root pathogens infecting chickpea crop in major chickpea growing areas of Punjab such as districts Layyah and Bhakkar. Surveys were conducted during year 2013-14 and 2014-15 in the months of November to March. From each district twenty areas and three fields from each area were visited making total 120 fields. Results revealed 100% prevalence of root diseases in every single field and average highest incidence recorded in Layyah was 60.05% and in Bhakkar was 57.5%. The incidence in Layyah and Bhakkar ranged from 52%-72%, 48%-76% and 48%-76%, 50%-70% during the year 2013-14 and 2014-15 respectively. Disease severity ranged from 1-4 on the scale. Collected samples retrieved five fungal pathogens and the most frequent was F. oxysporum f. sp. ciceri, with average highest frequency of 88% followed by M. phaseolina, Verticillium spp. with 75.5% and 74.5% respectively. Results elucidate that fungal pathogens associated to roots of chickpea pose serious implications in growth and productivity of chickpea.