Occurrence of fusarium foot rot disease in wheat fields of Osmaniye region and classical-molecular identification of the species causing disease

The aims of the study were to reveal the incidence of Fusarium Foot Rot Disease of wheat in the Osmaniye Province, to determine Fusarium species associated with disease and their pathogenicity. In 2018, totally 51 fields were inspected from the region and plant samples were collected. Fusarium species and the other fungi were isolated with standard mycological procedures and classical and molecular methods were followed at their identification. Pathogenicity tests were conducted in pots at outside conditions and the virulence of the isolates were determined by lesion occurrence on the crown of plants. According to results; the disease prevalence, average disease incidence and severity in the region were found to be 100%, 71% and 31.7% respectively. Eight Fusarium species (F. acuminatum, F. algeriense, F. brachygibbosum, F. culmorum, F. equiseti, F. incarnatum, F. nygamai and F. pseudograminearum) and Septoriella hirta, Microdochium nivale, Rhizoctionia sp. and other important species were isolated from the symptomatic plants. Among these fungi, the most frequently isolated species were Septoriella hirta (49.3%), Microdochium nivale (13.5%), Rhizoctonia sp. (13.1%) and Fusarium acuminatum (13.0%). According to pathogenicity test results, the most virulent Fusarium species were F. pseudograminearum, F. culmorum and F. incarnatum with 31.4%, 21.1% and 19.2% disease severity rates. In contrast, the other Fusarium species produced slight lesions changing %4.7 - %7.8 rates. In addition to Fusaria, Septoriella hirta and Microdochium nivale emerged as two important species to take into consideration in monoculture wheat growing areas. Key Words: Wheat, Fusarium, Foot Rot, Septoriella, Microdochium