Role of soil physicochemical and microbiological properties in the occurrence and severity of chickpea's Fusarium wilt disease

Abstract

The aim of the present study is to evaluate the relative disease severity of chickpea wilt inthe most important chickpea growing areas in North Algeria and their relationship to soilsproperties. The physicochemical and biological parameters of 14 soils were analyzed andcorrelated to the disease index severity (Dis). Soil physicochemical factors were determinedas a means of particle size distribution, pH, Electrical Conductivity (EC), CaCO3 content, totalNitrogen (Total-N), Olsen-P and biological factors including Foc inoculum density (ID-Foc),Trichoderma spp propagule number (TrPn), Pseudomonas spp and Bacillus spp. The resultsrevealed that the spread of the disease was evident in all prospected areas and recorded aslow to medium with values ranging from 2.05 to3 9.8. The disease severity was positivelycorrelated with EC (r=0.62), Total-N (r= 0.79), and ID-Foc (r=0.72), whereas negativelycorrelated with Olsen-P (r=-0.67), TrPn (r=-0.70) and Pseudomonas spp (r=-0.89). Therewas no correlation between Dis and soil physical (clay, loam and sand), chemical (pH, CaCO3content) and biological factors (Bacillus spp). As well, ID-Foc was positively correlated withTotal-N and negatively correlated with Olsen-P. The results indicated that TrPn andPseudomonas spp were positively correlated, whereas both were negatively associated withID-Foc and Dis. Our finding pointed out the critical role of some physicochemical andbiological soil characteristics in the epidemic development of chickpea wilt under fieldconditions.