Evaluation ofFusarium oxysporumas a Potential Bioherbicide for Sicklepod (Cassia obtusifolia), Coffee Senna (C. occidentalis), and Hemp Sesbania (Sesbania exaltata)

A strain of Fusarium oxysporum was isolated from infected sicklepod stems in Stoneville, MS, in 1989. When formulated as granules either in a fungus-infested rice preparation or encapsulated in a wheat-gluten matrix called ‘Pesta’, biocontrol of sicklepod, coffee senna, and hemp sesbania was achieved with preemergence or preplant-incorporated treatments. Liquid conidial applications were less effective. Plants were killed by a preemergence damping-off. Applications made postemergence were significantly less effective. Results of these tests suggest that this fungus has potential as a mycoherbicide for controlling sicklepod, coffee senna, and hemp sesbania.