Studies on Fusarium-Gladiolus Interactions

Using standardized conditions, 65 genotypes oi Gladiolus were screened for Fusarium resistance. High levels were found in ʹlarge-flowered" types, Primulinus hybrids, G. callianthus, G. garnierii, and G. dalenii. Some accessions of G. dalenii exhibited no disease symptoms when inoculated with two standard test isolates. No resistance was found in ʹsmall-floweredʹ types. To estimate race-specifity of the resistance, eight highly resistant Gladiolus genotypes were tested in an in vitro test against 43 isolates of F. oxysporum f.sp. gladioli. Two isolates were able to partially infect the G. dalenii accessions and this was confirmed using whole plants. Implications for resistance breeding are discussed