Control of Fusarium Wilt of Cucumber Seedlings by Inoculation with an Arbuscular Mycorrhical Fungus

ABSTRACT

A glasshouse pot experiment was conducted to investigate the impact of inoculation of cucumber at the germination stage with Glomus etunicatum BEG168 on plant yield and incidence of Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. cucumerinum inoculated 28 days after the start of the experiment. Inoculation with the AM fungus decreased both disease incidence and disease index. Mycorrhizal inoculation also increased P concentrations in the cucumber seedlings. The mycorrhizal seedlings had higher concentrations of proline and polyphenol oxidase activity but lower malondialdehyde than non-mycorrhizal seedlings, indicating that AM inoculation may have protected membrane permeability and reduced the extent of the damage caused by F. oxysporum. The results indicate that the mycorrhizal fungus may influence plant secondary metabolites and increase resistance to wilt disease in cucumber seedlings and may therefore have some potential as a biological control agent.

Keywords:

• arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi
• cucumber
• wilt disease

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This work was funded by the National Science Foundation of China (Project 30230250) and the National High Technology Research and Development Program (‘863’ Program) of the Science Technology Department of the People's Republic of China (Project 2001AA247031).