First report of Fusarium foetens in South Africa on rooibos
Fusarium foetens (EPPO A2 List) is reported for the first time in South Africa on rooibos (Aspalathus linearis, Fabaceae). The pathogen was detected during studies conducted from 2007 to 2009 on Fusarium species causing damping-off of rooibos in 12 nurseries of the Western Cape province. As a result, 121 isolates were obtained, and all morphologically resembled Fusarium oxysporum. Sequence analyses of 58 isolates showed that 25 were F. foetens and 33 F. oxysporum. Pathogenicity tests confirmed that F. foetens was the causal agent of the disease observed on rooibos (Lamprecht and Tewoldemedhin, 2017).
The situation of Fusarium foetens is South Africa can be described as follows: Present, not widely distributed.
Additional note: Experimental studies conducted in South Africa have also shown that F. foetens could infect Solanaceae plants, such as tomatoes (Solanum lycopersicum) and pepper (Capsicum annuum). These results together with recent findings on potatoes (EPPO RS 2023/237), show that the host range of F. foetens is wider than originally thought and goes beyond begonias (Amobonye et al., 2021).
Sources
Amobonye A, Bhagwat P, Ranjith D, Mohanlall V, Pillai S (2021) Characterisation, pathogenicity and hydrolytic enzyme profiling of selected Fusarium species and their inhibition by novel coumarins. Archives of Microbiology 203, 3495–3508.
Lamprecht SC, Tewoldemedhin YT (2017) Fusarium species associated with damping-off of rooibos seedlings and the potential of compost as soil amendment for disease suppression. South African Journal of Botany 110, 110-117. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sajb.2016.07.009