Chickpea Wilt Caused by Fusarium oxysporum in China

Chickpea wilt is a severe disease in China, primarily observed from the seedling to pod-forming stages with characteristic symptoms including foliar chlorosis, vascular browning, and progressive plant wilting. In the present study, two fungal isolates YF1 and YF2 were isolated from symptomatic root tissues of diseased chickpea plants and identified as Fusarium oxysporum through comprehensive morphological examination and molecular analysis using ITS and EF-1α gene sequences. Pathogenicity was confirmed through controlled inoculation experiments on both seeds and seedlings, which reproduced the characteristic disease symptoms observed under field conditions. This is the first report of F. oxysporum as the causal agent of chickpea wilt disease in China, establishing a foundation for developing effective disease management strategies for this economically important crop.