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Evaluation of Alternaria cassiae for the Biocontrol of Sicklepod (Cassia obtusifolia)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 June 2017

H. Lynn Walker
Affiliation:
South. Weed Sci. Lab., U.S. Dep. Agric., Agric. Res. Serv., Stoneville, MS 38776
Joe A. Riley
Affiliation:
South. Weed Sci. Lab., U.S. Dep. Agric., Agric. Res. Serv., Stoneville, MS 38776

Abstract

A method is described to produce inoculum of Alternaria cassiae Jurair and Khan for biocontrol studies. Approximately 8 g of a conidial preparation containing 1 × 108 conidia/g were produced per liter of growth medium. In greenhouse studies the effectiveness of A. cassiae as a biocontrol agent for sicklepod (Cassia obtusifolia L.) was affected by dew-period temperature, dew-period duration, inoculum concentration, and the stage of growth of sicklepod seedlings at the time of inoculation. Optimum environmental conditions included at least 8 h of free moisture at 20 to 30C. Spray mixtures containing approximately 5 × 104 or more conidia/ml gave maximum control when sicklepod seedlings were sprayed to runoff. Sicklepod seedlings in the cotyledon to first-leaf stage were most susceptible to the pathogen.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © 1982 by the Weed Science Society of America 

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References

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