SCREENING OF ARACHIS HYPOGEAE L. ACCESSIONS FOR TOLERANCE TO ATHELIA ROLFSII (SACC) TU AND KIM. INOCULATION
Abstract
This study aims to screen Arachis hypogaea accessions (TAH-183, TAH-142, TAH-164,
TAH-124 AND TAH-134) for tolerance to a grey rot fungus (Athelia rolfsii). The experiment
was set up in a complete block design. Three seeds of A. hypogaea accessions were planted in
7kg of sterilized soil in replicate (Control (C), A. rolfsii (T). A. rolfsii, a characterized
pathogen that causes vine rot and wilt disease was obtained from Botany Laboratory and
spawned with 300g of millet seeds. 5g of colonized seeds were used to infect A. hypogaea
accessions seedlings. Standard Methods were employed to determine growth Parameters and
Disease Severity Index (DSI), while the Total Photosynthetic Pigments (TPP) were
determined using the atLeag chlorophyll meter. Three accessions of A.hypogaea; TAH-183,
TAH-164 and TAH-142 had 100% germination after 1q days of planting, TAH-124 and
TAH-134 had 80% and 60% germination respectively. Results for Disease Severity Index
showed that all seedlings were infected, however, only 1 plants from 3 accessions each
(TAH-134, TAH-124 and TAH-164) died and had DSI of 33.33%. Accessions TAH-124
inoculated with A. rolfsii recorded highest value for shoot length (23.00 + 4.09cm), Control
( 21.80 + 0.00), while TAH-134 had the least recorded value; A.rolfsii (11.83 + 5.92), Control
(17.47 + 2.09). A.rolfsii TAH-142 (43.53 + 6.07) recorded the highest TPP contents while
TAH-124 and TAH-164 (35.93 +1.17) recorded the least. TAH-183 Control had the least for
TPP (22.67 + 10.86) and TAH-164 and TAH-124 Control had the highest (43.10 + 2.89).
Post-harvest parametera; TAH-124 (10.07 + 0.19) under Control had the lowest fresh
biomass yield while TAH-183 showed greater fresh biomass yield ( 43.90 + 0.74) under
Control and (31.07 + 2.49) under A.rolfsii. Although this study has shown that A.rolfsii
infection had a negative effect on the growth and biomass yield, with symptoms like stem rot,
root rot, wilt, leaf yellowing and death, it has also tolerated the infection by not dying even
when all accessions were infected.
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