Screening of Selected Korean Sweetpotato (Ipomoea batatas) Varieties for Fusarium Storage Root Rot (Fusarium solani) Resistance

Seung-yong Lee¹ Narayan Chandra Paul ¹ Won Park ¹ Gyeong-Dan Yu ¹ Jin-Cheon Park ¹ Mi-Nam Chung¹ Sang-Sik Nam ¹ Seon-Kyeong Han ¹ Hyeong-Un Lee ¹ San Goh¹ Im Been Lee ¹ Jung-Wook Yang^2,*

¹Bioenergy Crop Research Institute, National Institute of Crop Science, Rural Development Administration, Muan 58545, Korea
²Crop Cultivation & Environment Research Division, National Institute of Crop Science, Rural Development Administration, Suwon 16613, Korea

Abstract

A common post-harvest disease of sweetpotato tuber is root rot caused by Fusarium solani in Korea as well as the other countries. Storage root rot disease was monitored earlier on sweetpotato (Ipomoea batatas) in storehouses of different locations in Korea. In the present study, an isolate SPL16124 was choosen and collected from Sweetpotato Research Lab., Bioenergy Crop Research Institute, NICS, Muan, Korea, and confirmed the identification as Fusarium solani by conidial and molecular phylogenetic analysis (internal transcribed spacer ITS and translation elongation factor EF 1-α gene sequences). The isolate was cultured on potato dextrose agar, and conidiation was induced. The fungus was screened for Fusarium root rot on tuber of 14 different varieties. Among the tested variety, Yenjami, Singeonmi, Daeyumi, and Sinjami showed resistant to root rot disease. Additionally, the pathogen was tested for pathogenicity on stalks of these varieties. No symptom was observed on the stalk, and it was confirmed that the disease is tissue specific.

Figures & Tables

Fig. 1. Conidial characteristics of the isolate SPL16124 cultured on potato dextrose agar showing macro- and micro-conidia (Scale bar = 20 μm).