Soil receptivity and host–pathogen dynamics in soils naturally infested with Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense, the cause of Panama disease in bananas

Abstract

Disease severity associated with the pathogen Fusarium oxysporum is generally thought to be proportional to the population of fungal propagules in the soil. However, results from studies using naturally infested soil are contradictory, implicating host predisposition to disease. In this study, soil was amended with chicken manure to investigate the interdependence between the activity and invasiveness of the pathogen, and the incidence of Panama disease in susceptible banana plantlets. Two soil types naturally infested with either race 1 or race 4 of the pathogen, and cultivars Lady finger and Grande Naine, were used. Pathogen activity was measured by burying root tip segments for 5 days, then calculating the frequency of isolation of Fusarium from the segments. Pathogen invasion was measured by transplanting banana plantlets into trays of amended and unamended soil for 4 weeks, then calculating the frequency of recovery of Fusarium from each pseudostem. Amending both soil types with chicken manure enhanced both pathogen invasion and disease incidence. However, pathogen activity was not correlated with either parameter. We postulate that the addition of chicken manure is predisposing banana plantlets to Panama disease, by reducing the efficacy of the host wound response.