''Choanephora cucurbitarum'' is a
fungal
A fungus ( : fungi or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as a kingdom, separately from th ...
plant pathogen
Plant pathology (also phytopathology) is the scientific study of diseases in plants caused by pathogens (infectious organisms) and environmental conditions (physiological factors). Organisms that cause infectious disease include fungi, oomyc ...
that causes fruit and blossom rot of various
cucurbits
The Cucurbitaceae, also called cucurbits or the gourd family, are a plant family consisting of about 965 species in around 95 genera, of which the most important to humans are:
*''Cucurbita'' – squash, pumpkin, zucchini, some gourds
*''Lagena ...
. It can also affect okra, snap bean, and southern pea, and may cause a stem and leaf rot of ''
Withania somnifera
''Withania somnifera'', known commonly as ashwagandha or winter cherry, is an evergreen shrub in the Solanaceae or nightshade family that grows in India, the Middle East, and parts of Africa. Several other species in the genus ''Withania'' are m ...
''. Recently Das et al. 2017 added few more patho-index on
aubergine
Eggplant ( US, Canada), aubergine ( UK, Ireland) or brinjal (Indian subcontinent, Singapore, Malaysia, South Africa) is a plant species in the nightshade family Solanaceae. ''Solanum melongena'' is grown worldwide for its edible fruit.
Mos ...
(''Solanum melongena'' L.),
teasle gourd (''Momordica subangulata'' Blume subsp. ''renigera'' (G. Don) de Wilde,
hyacinth bean
''Lablab purpureus'' is a species of bean in the family Fabaceae. It is native to Africa and it is cultivated throughout the tropics for food.[green pea
The pea is most commonly the small spherical seed or the seed-pod of the flowering plant species ''Pisum sativum''. Each pod contains several peas, which can be green or yellow. Botanically, pea pods are fruit, since they contain seeds and d ...]
(''Pisum sativum'') from India. Wet weather, high temperature and high humidity favor disease development from inoculum that is typically soil-borne. Signs of infection on fruits or leaves include water-soaked, necrotic lesions, which progress rapidly under ideal conditions. As the fungus begins to produce spores, affected tissues become dark grey-brown and hairy as a result of the superficial sporangia.
Description
Sporangiophores bearing sporangiola are erect, hyaline, unbranched, and apically dilated to form a clavate vesicle, from which arise dichotomously branched, distally clavate secondary vesicles. The sporangioles are indehiscent, ellipsoid, brown to dark brown with distinct longitudinal striations and measure 12-20μm x 6-12μm. Sporangia are multispored, spherical, initially white to yellow, pale brown to dark brown at maturity and measure 40-160μm. Sporangiospores from sporangia are ellipsoid to broadly ellipsoid, brown to dark brown, indistinctly striate with fine hyaline polar appendages, and measure 16-20 µm x 8-12 µm (Saroj et al. 2012).
File:Choanephora cucurbitarum01.jpg, Choanephora cucurbitarum (Choanephoraceae Mucorales) on Pumpkin flower Japanese name;Kougaikekabi
File:Choanephora cucurbitarum03.jpg, Choanephora cucurbitarum (Choanephoraceae Mucorales) incubated in wet chamber Japanese name;Kougaikekabi
File:Choanephora cucurbitarum04.jpg, Choanephora cucurbitarum (Choanephoraceae Mucorales) incubated in wet chamber Japanese name;Kougaikekabi
References
* P. M. Kirk. Mycol. Pap. 152:1, 1984.
* A. Saroj, A. Kumar, N. Qamar, M. Alam, H.N. Singh and A. Khaliq. 2012. First report of wet rot of Withania somnifera caused by Choanephora cucurbitarum in India. Plant Disease 96(2): 293.2.
* S. Das, S.Dutta, B.Mondal. 2017 First report of Choanephora cucurbitarum, causing leaf blight of hyacinthbean
ablab purpureus (L.) Sweet in India. Journal of Plant Pathology 99 (2), 533-543
* S. Das, S.Dutta, A. Chattopadhyay, and B.Mondal. 2017 First report of Choanephora infundibulifera causing blossom blight of teasle gourd in India. Indian Phytopathology 70(2):265-267
* S. Das, S.Dutta and B.Mondal. 2017 First report on blossom and leaf blight of aubergine (Solanum melongena L.) caused by Choanephora infundibulifera (Currey) Sacc., in India. Journal of Mycology and Plant Pathology Vol 47(1):69-73.
* S. Das, S.Dutta, S.P. Kuiry, and B.Mondal. 2017 First report of twig blight disease of green pea (Pisum sativum) caused by Choanephora infundibulifera in India. Indian Phytopathology Vol 70(3):400-402
External links
APS: Choanephora fruit rot on squash APS publication number IW00007.
Fungal plant pathogens and diseases
Eudicot diseases
Zygomycota
Fungi described in 1875
{{plant-disease-stub