First report of Fusarium solani causing wilt of Melia dubia

Abstract

Melia dubia, a multipurpose tree species, is gaining importance to meet the demand supply gap of timber, plywood and pulpwood. In June 2016, a serious outbreak of wilt disease was observed in M. dubia seedlings planted in the Central Nursery of Forest Research Institute (FRI), Dehradun, India. The disease led to the destruction of one hundred thousand (100,000) seedlings. Earlier in June 2012, serious wilting of M. dubia seedlings was observed in Haryana, India. The pathogen was identified as Fusarium solani following standard laboratory procedures and sequence analysis of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region of the ribosomal DNA (rDNA). The pathogenicity of three isolates has been proved under greenhouse conditions. This is the first report of F. solani causing wilt of M. dubia.