Abstract
Pigeonpea (Cajanus cajan L.) is an important legume crop of rainfed agriculture. High levels of protein in pigeonpea make it a valuable protein source for developing countries. Phytophthora blight caused by Phytophthora cajani (P. cajani) is a potential threat to pigeonpea (Cajanus cajan L.) production, affecting the crop irrespective of cropping system, cultivar grown and soil types (Pande et al., 2011; Sharma et al., 2006). The primary mode of infection of P. cajani is sporangium and zoospore. Therefore, sensitive and reliable methods for zoospore production and estimating infection severity are desirable in case of Phytophthora blight of pigeonpea (Sharma et al., 2015). Here we present a protocol for isolation of P. cajani from infected plants, sporangia and zoospore production and in planta infection technique of pigeonpea seedlings. These methods will be important tool to devise a platform for rapid and reliable screening against Phytophthora blight disease of pigeonpea as well as for host x pathogen x environment interaction studies.
Keywords: Phyophthora cajani, Pigeonpea, Phytophthora stem blight, Inoculation technique
Materials and Reagents
Equipment
Procedure
Recipes
Acknowledgments
The funding support from Department of Science and Technology-Climate Change Division and National Food Security Mission (NFSM), Department of Agriculture & Cooperation, Ministry of Agriculture, Govt. of India is gratefully acknowledged. The authors are thankful for technical assistance from Mr. Bal Krishna and K Ramulu from Legumes Pathology group.
References
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