Interaction among Fusarium moniliforme, Tyrolichus casei, and mangiferin as related to malformation of Mangifera indica.
Chakrabarti D. K., Rajesh Kumar, Kumud, Sunil Kumar
Author Affiliation: Narendra Deva University of Agriculture and Technology, Kumarganj, Faizabad, Uttar Pradesh 224 229, India.
Tropical Agriculture 74 : 317-320
Abstract : The interaction among Fusarium moniliforme [Gibberella fujikuroi] and Tyrolichus casei colonizing malformed mango (Mangifera indica cv. Banarasi Langra) panicles, and mangiferin (1, 3, 6, 7-tetrahydroxyxanthone-C2-?-D glucoside), a defensive metabolite of the host plant, in relation to floral malformation was investigated in field experiments conducted in the orchard of the Narendra Deva University of Agriculture and Technology, Faizabad, Uttar Pradesh, India. The fungal and mite populations were initially positively related to the mangiferin content and the disease incidence. Further increases in mangiferin content reduced the fungal and mite populations; however, the increase in infection rate was not affected until the Gibberella population was too low. The fungal conidia remained adhered to the body surface of the mites inhabiting malformed panicles, and its plating on potato dextrose agar showed a trail of fungal colonies along the pathway of its movement. T. casei facilitated the ingress of the fungus into the host cells while G. fujikuroi served as the food of T. casei and increased its multiplication.