First Record of Fusarium solani as a Causal Agent of Root Rot and Damping-Off Disease in Acacia mangium and Its In Vitro Control in Karbala Province, Iraq

This study was conducted to determine the pathogens of root rot and damping-off of Acacia mangium in Karbala governorate, Iraq. The study included evaluating some biological and chemical methods against the pathogen. Four isolates, Fusarium sp (F1), Fusarium sp (F2), Fusarium sp. (F3), and Rhizoctonia sp (R1), were obtained. The F3 was the best isolate superiority compared to the other isolates in reducing the seed germination rate of red radish seeds on the water agar medium to inhibition rate 100%. While the seed germination, percentage in the control treatment amount 100%. The greenhouse experiment also demonstrated the same results. The F3 isolate significantly superior in decreasing the germination percentage compared to the control treatment. The morphological and molecular identification revealed that the highest pathogenicity isolate (F3) is the fungus Fusarium solani. The sequence was deposited in NCBI under the accession number PP319596. Moreover, the results indicated the effectiveness of the bioagent Trichoderma koningiopsis in controlling F. solani. It significantly outperformed the control treatment in controlling this pathogen an inhibition percentage of 96.29%. whereas the control treatment a mounted 0.00%. In addition to these findings, it was found that Beltanol fungicide demonstrated the highest inhibition efficacy (100%) against the isolated pathogens.