Interaction between Meloidogyne incognita and wilt inducing fungus, Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. ciceri on chickpea cv. Dahod Yellow

Interaction of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. ciceri (Foc) with M. incognita (Mi) on chickpea cv. Dahod Yellow revealed that the organisms either individually or in combinations reduced plant height and fresh root and shoot weights significantly but the reduction was more by Mi as compared to Foc. Among combined inoculations, simultaneous inoculation of both the pathogens had maximum suppressive effect on growth of chickpea plants as compared to preceding or succeeding inoculation of fungus and nematodes. Root galling and nematode multiplication on chickpea were maximum when nematodes were inoculated alone but it was reduced in the presence of fungus. The fungus alone was able to produce wilt disease but the incubation period for disease development was reduced and severity of the disease increased when root-knot nematode was present with fungus. Maximum wilting of plant was observed when the fungus and nematodes were inoculated simultaneously.