Screening of Lentil Fields for Presence of Fusarium Wilt and Root Rot in Türkiye under Terrestrial Climate

Lentil is an important self-pollinated legume crop plant. Its production is limited by various biotic factors, especially fungal agents causing the wilt and root rot complex. The study aimed to understand the regional epidemiology and etiology of phytopathogenic fungal agents to develop control strategies against soilborne Fusarium spp. This study investigated 83 lentil sowing localities in Yozgat province for wilt, root and crown rot diseases caused by common Fusarium species during 2022 and 2023. Symptomatic lentil plants were collected for fungal isolation and identification. The Fusarium isolates were grouped according to colony morphology and cultured on PDA medium. Moreover, genomic DNAs obtained from Fusarium isolates were analyzed using PCR and compared with other Fusarium isolates registered in the NCBI GenBank. Genetic relationships among Fusarium isolates were determined using the Maximum Parsimony (MP) method in the Mega 11 program. The results, mean incidence and disease severity rate of wilt and root rot diseases in Yozgat province were determined to be 16.9% and 38.6%, respectively. Fusarium isolates were found in 95.4% of the samples. There was 99.5% to 100% nucleotide sequence homogeneity among F. oxysporum, F. culmorum, F. graminearum, F. acuminatum and F. solani isolates, and the most isolated species was F. oxysporum. The MP dendrogram of Fusarium isolates was divided into two main branches, the first branch included all F. solani isolates. The second main branch included other Fusarium species isolated in the present study and in NCBI GenBank. The study suggests periodic local surveys to determine the frequency of Fusarium wilt for suppression in lentils. Timely suppression of Fusarium-based damages is strongly suggested to control the disease and conserve the lentil production system.