Fighting Fungi Could Benefit Chickpeas

The fungus Ascochyta rabiei, a blight-causing pathogen, wreaks havoc on chickpea crops. Now this fungus may meet with resistance in the form of Aureobasidium pullulans, a rival fungus that Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists are investigating as a biocontrol agent.

Using fungicides and resistant cultivars, plowing fields before planting, and rotating crops are effective ways to control Ascochyta blight. According to ARS plant pathologist Frank Dugan, however, biocontrol should be explored as it has potenital to provide chickpea growers with morer flexibility when it comes to managing the disease.

During the winter, A. rabiei survives on chickpea stubble and forms ascospores, which can infect plantings of the crop in the spring. But for all the damage A. rabiei inflicts, it, too, can be damaged, too.

In 2003, in studies begun by Dugan and colleagues, a close examination of chickpea stubble from fields near Pullman, WA, showed a community of fungal competitors. Of 28 fungal isolates identified, A. pullulans scored highest on a ranking system used to show their biocontrol potential. These criteria included ease of growth in culture, abundance in nature, safety to humans and animals, and “antagonism” towards targeted pathogens.

Dugan and ARS and Washington State University colleagues reported their findings in the journal Biocontrol Science and Technology.

For more information, go to www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr.

Source: USDA-ARS News Service