Evaluation of sunflower inbred lines resistance to Macrophomina phaseolina using different inoculation methods

Abstract

Macrophomina phaseolina (Tassi) Goid is important pathogen of sunflower and other crops. the pathogen causes charcoal rot, disease named by charcoal coloration of infected tissues. Symptoms of diseases can vary significantly and generally appear in later development stages. Reliable disease evaluation is necessary to obtain valid information about sunflower susceptibility. Introduction of artificial inoculation of host plant is helpful for genotypes comparison. The first objective of this study was to compare two inoculation methods of sunflower with M. phaseolina and spontaneous disease occurrence. Second objective is selection of sunflower inbred lines that could be source of resistance to charcoal rot. Set of 79 sunflower inbred lines from breeding program of the Institute of Field and Vegetable Crops, Novi Sad Serbia was included in research. Inbred lines were inoculated using two methods: toothpick method and Unwounded Stem Base Inoculation method (USBI). Besides two inoculation methods, inbred lines were also grown in natural conditions without artificial inoculation.