Fusarium Dieback: Scientific Challenges and Priorities to Safeguard Indian tea Industry

Among the various diseases affecting tea production, dieback (Fusarium solani (Mart.) Sacc) has recently emerged in various tea industries across the country. It is one of the most destructive diseases in northeastern India as well as in West Bengal, responsible for huge crop losses and a simultaneous loss in revenue. The reported causal organism of tea dieback disease needed to be characterized by screening available variants population-wide since the level of virulence and host specificity depends on their genetic background. Estimating genetic diversity and determining the phylogenetic structure of F. solani isolates from tea plants can provide valuable insights into the pathogen, potentially assisting in the long-term management of dieback issues within the Indian tea industry. Moreover, exploiting Indian tea genetic resources related to resistance is the most feasible method to recover production through marker assisted selection breeding programs. Understanding the pathogenic variability and counteracting the disease by selected genotypes will be able check the crop loss substantially.