A simplified method for identifying <i>Fusarium</i> spp. occurring on wheat

Abstract

The 18 Fusarium species or varieties (F. acuminatum, F. anthophilum, F. avenaceum, var. avenaceum, F. culmorum, F. dimerum var. dimerum, F. equiseti var. equiseti, F. graminearum, F. merismoides var. merismoides, F. nivale var. nivale and var. majus, F. oxysporum var. oxysporum, F. poae, F. sacchari var. subglutinans, F. sambucinum var. sambucinum, F. solani var. solani, F. sporotrichoides var. sporotrichoides, F. tricinctum, and F. verticillioides) most frequently isolated from wheat are described and illustrated. The experimental conditions used in this study, such as medium, near ultraviolet irridiation at a wave-length of λ = 300–400 nm (black light), and temperature, cause some alteration of the morphology of some of the taxa to which plant pathologists are accustomed if the strains are grown on richer media and (or) without black light. This does not matter, however, because the method described here allows each species or variety to develop a unique and stable set of morphological features, which distinguishes it from all other taxa.