Infectivity of a Japanese isolate of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Oidium neolycopersici</Emphasis> KTP-01 to a European tomato cultivar resistant to <Emphasis Type="Italic">O. lycopersici</Emphasis>

The infectivity of a Japanese isolate of tomato powdery mildew, Oidium neolycopersici KTP-01, to tomato cultivars was examined using a resistant cultivar Grace bred in The Netherlands to O. lycopersici, which was recently proposed to be renamed O. neolycopersici. Grace was severely infected with KTP-01, and its susceptibility was similar to that on susceptible tomato cultivars Moneymaker and Ponderosa, suggesting that KTP-01 differs in pathogenicity on tomatoes from those of European and American isolates.     

A natural fungicide for the control of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Erysiphe betae</Emphasis> and <Emphasis Type="Italic">Erysiphe cichoracearum</Emphasis>

This study examines the effects of a vegetable fungicide on sugar beet powdery mildew (Erysiphe betae) and cucumber powdery mildew (Erysiphe cichoracearum). The formulations consisting of a dispersion of Brassicaceae meal in vegetable or mineral oils on infected leaves of sugar beet, reared in the greenhouse, and of musk melons cultivated under plastic tunnels, were tested in comparison to each oil taken separately. Both formulations containing Brassicaceae meals, caused 94% of conidia to be distorted while for the untreated group only 2% were distorted. Furthermore, the leaf area infected by E. betae was 56% for untreated plants and 2.7 and 9.9% respectively, for plants treated with meal containing mineral and vegetable oil. Vegetable oil considered separately or with Brassicaceae meals showed no phytotoxicity, while the formulations based on mineral oil showed a significantly lower fresh and dry weight on tomato plants. The low level or absence of phytotoxicity of plants treated with vegetable oil formulations suggests that to improve the efficacy of powdery mildew control, they could be used mixed with sulphur. The efficiency of the vegetable formulations in the powdery mildew control observed during these trials encourages further investigation on other parasitic fungi and foliar pathogens.     

Morphological and molecular characterization of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Oidium</Emphasis> subgenus <Emphasis Type="Italic">Reticuloidium</Emphasis> (powdery mildew) newly occurred on cucumber in Japan

In 2002, a powdery mildew with catenate conidia lacking fibrosin bodies was found on cucumber in a greenhouse in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. Morphological observation revealed that the fungus belongs to Oidium subgenus Reticuloidium, anamorph of the genus Golovinomyces. Molecular phylogenetic analyses of the nucleotide sequences of the rDNA ITS regions and D1/D2 domains of the 28S rDNA indicated that the fungus belongs to the clade of G. orontii with other Golovinomyces fungi from a wide range of host plants, suggesting that the fungus was newly transported from abroad. Because there has been no prior report of cucumber powdery mildew caused by Reticuloidium, further research on the physiology, epidemiology, control and resistant cucumber varieties is required.     

Microcyclic conidiogenesis in powdery mildews and its association with intracellular parasitism by <Emphasis Type="Italic">Ampelomyces</Emphasis>

Microcyclic conidiogenesis (MC), a process defined as the production of conidia on a spore without any, or only a minimal, involvement of hyphal growth, has recently been reported in a little known powdery mildew species, Oidium longipes. To investigate whether this was an isolated case or it is a more general phenomenon in powdery mildew fungi, germinating conidia of eight species of the Erysiphales were examined using light microscopy. The following species were included in this work: Erysiphe necator on grapevine, Blumeria graminis f. sp. hordei on barley, Podosphaera xanthii on cucumber, Erysiphe sp. on Ligustrum vulgare, O. longipes on Petunia x grandiflora, O. neolycopersici on tomato, Golovinomyces cichoracearum on Rudbeckia laciniata and Sawadaea sp. on Acer negundo. In all these species, up to 4% of the germinated conidia exhibited MC. Moreover, when colonies of E. necator and O. neolycopersici, on detached grapevine and tomato leaves, respectively, were treated with a conidial suspension of Ampelomyces, the intracellular pycnidia of these mycoparasites appeared in microcyclic conidiophores. This represents a yet undescribed method of accelerating asexual reproduction in this mycoparasite. In the life cycle of powdery mildews, the importance of MC is still not clear but it should be taken into consideration when conidial germination is studied on the host surface for purposes such as epidemiology or species identification.     

Morphological and molecular characterization for a Japanese isolate of tomato powdery mildew Oidium neolycopersici and its host range

 A single conidium of tomato powdery mildew was isolated from heavily infected leaves of tomato (cv. Moneymaker) grown in the greenhouse of Kinki University, Nara Prefecture, Japan. It was successively multiplied so the morphological and taxonomic characteristics of the pathogen and its host range under high humidity conditions could be analyzed. The isolate KTP-01 of the tomato powdery mildew optimally developed infection structures at 25°C under continuous illumination of 3500 lx. More than 90% of the conidia germinated and developed moderately lobed appressoria. After forming haustoria, the pathogen elongated secondary hyphae from both appressoria and conidia. The hyphae attached to leaf surfaces by several pairs of appressoria and produced conidiophores with noncatenated conidia. In addition to its morphological similarity to Oidium neolycopersici, the phylogenetic analysis (based on the sequence of internal transcribed spacer regions of rDNA) revealed that KTP-01 could be classified into the same cluster group as O. neolycopersici. In host range studies, KTP-01 produced abundant conidia on the foliage of all tomato cultivars tested and tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum), and it developed faint colonies accompanied by necrosis on leaves of potato (Solanum tuberosum), red pepper (Capsicum annuum), petunia (Petunia × hybrida), and eggplant (S. melongena). The pathogen did not infect other plant species including Cucurubitaceae plants, which have been reported to be susceptible to some foreign isolates. Thus, the present isolate of the tomato powdery mildew was assigned as O. neolycopersici, a pathotype different from foreign isolates of the pathogen. Received: December 5, 2002 / Accepted: December 26, 2002 Acknowledgments This work was supported in part by a Grant-in-Aid (12660050) from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology of Japan. We express our deepest thanks to professor Dr. Y. Sato, Toyama Prefectural University, for his kind and valuable suggestion on taxonomic analysis of the powdery mildew pathogen described in the present study.     

Functional analysis of the melanin biosynthesis genes <Emphasis Type="Italic">ALM1</Emphasis> and <Emphasis Type="Italic">BRM2</Emphasis>-<Emphasis Type="Italic">1</Emphasis> in the tomato pathotype of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Alternaria alternata</Emphasis>

The tomato pathotype of Alternaria alternata (A. arborescens) produces the dark brown to black pigment melanin, which accumulates in the cell walls of hyphae and conidia. Melanin has been implicated as a pathogenicity factor in some phytopathogenic fungi. Here, two genes of the tomato pathotype for melanin biosynthesis, ALM1 and BRM2-1, which encode a polyketide synthetase and a 1,3,8-trihydroxynaphthalene (THN) reductase, respectively, have been cloned and disrupted in the pathogen. The gene-disrupted mutants, alm1 and brm2-1, had albino and brown phenotypes, respectively. The wild-type and the mutants caused the same necrotic lesions on the leaves after inoculation with spores. These results suggest that melanin is unlikely to play a direct role in pathogenicity in the tomato pathotype A. alternata. Scanning electron microscopy revealed that the conidia of both mutants have much smoother surfaces in comparison to the wild-type. The conidia of those mutants were more sensitive to UV light than those of the wild-type, demonstrating that melanin confers UV tolerance.     

Impact of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Erysiphe alphitoides</Emphasis> on transpiration and photosynthesis in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Quercus robur</Emphasis> leaves

Oak powdery mildew, (Erysiphe alphitoides) causes one of the most common diseases of oaks. We assessed the impact of this pathogen on photosynthesis and water relations of infected leaves using greenhouse-grown oak seedlings. Transpiration of seedlings infected by oak powdery mildew was also investigated. Altogether, E. alphitoides had a low impact on host gas exchange whether at the leaf or whole plant scale. Maximal stomatal conductance of infected leaves was reduced by 20–30% compared to healthy controls. Severely infected seedlings did not experience any detectable change of whole plant transpiration. The reduction in net CO₂ assimilation, A_n, was less than proportional to the fraction of leaf area infected. Powdery mildew reduced both the maximal light-driven electron flux (J_max) and the apparent maximal carboxylation velocity (Vc_max) although Vc_max was slightly more impacted than J_max. No compensation for the infection occurred in healthy leaves of partly infected seedlings as the reduced photosynthesis in the infected leaves was not paralleled by increased A_n levels in the healthy leaves of the seedlings. However, E. alphitoides had a strong impact on the leaf life-span of infected leaves. It is concluded that the moderate effect of E. alphitoides on oak might be related to the small impact on net CO₂ assimilation rates and on tree transpiration; nevertheless, the severe reduction in leaf life-span of heavily infected leaves may lead to decreased carbon uptake over the growth season.     

Visualisation of <Emphasis Type="Italic">hrp</Emphasis> gene expression in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Xanthomonas euvesicatoria</Emphasis> in the tomato phyllosphere

The plasmid pUFZ75 conferred constitutive GFP expression on the bacterial pathogen Xanthomonas euvesicatoria (syn. X. campestris pv. vesicatoria). Colonisation of the tomato phyllosphere and invasion of tomato leaves by X. euvesicatoria was examined using both fluorescence and confocal laser scanning microscopy. Xanthomonas euvesicatoria established a limited population on the tomato leaf surface, primarily occupying the depressions between epidermal cells and around the stomata, prior to invasion of the leaf via the stomata and subsequent growth within the substomatal chamber and the leaf apoplast. Additionally, hrp-gfp fusions were used to report on the temporal and spatial expression of hrp genes during epiphytic colonisation and invasion. Xanthomonas euvesicatoria cells carrying hrpG- and hrpX-gfp reporter constructs were not fluorescent in vitro on non-hrp-inducing LB agar but did exhibit a low level of fluorescence on the leaf surface within 24 h of inoculation, particularly in the vicinity of stomata. Cells carrying hrpG- and hrpX-gfp fusions exhibited high levels of fluorescence 72 h after inoculation in the substomatal chamber and the leaf apoplast. Cells carrying the hrpF-gfp fusion were slightly fluorescent on LB agar and showed no further increase in fluorescence on the leaf surface by 24 h after inoculation, but did show a significant increase in fluorescence 72 h after inoculation in the substomatal chamber and apoplast. The apparent low-level induction of the regulators hrpG and hrpX on the tomato leaf surface may suggest that some of the genes of the X. euvesicatoria HrpG/HrpX regulon are up- or down-regulated prior to invasion of the stomata while still on the leaf surface.     

Monitoring physiological races of<Emphasis Type="Italic">Podosphaera xanthii</Emphasis> (syn.<Emphasis Type="Italic">Sphaerotheca fuliginea</Emphasis>), the causal agent of powdery mildew in cucurbits: Factors affecting race identification and the importance for research and commerce

Identification of the physiological races ofPodosphaera xanthii (syn.Sphaerotheca fuliginea), the causal agent of powdery mildew in cucurbits, is based upon the differing responses of various melon cultigens to the pathogen. Eight races of the pathogen have been identified to date in the USA, Africa, Europe and around the Mediterranean Sea, and four new races were reported from greenhouse melons in the major growing area of Japan. Plant responses to powdery mildew may be affected by environmental factors such as light intensity, temperature and humidity, as well as by age and nutritional status of the plants. The same factors affect the accuracy and reliability of race identification. In an attempt to overcome those obstacles, the genetic diversity ofP. xanthii was studied using molecular markers. Unfortunately, no correlation was found between DNA polymorphism and the race of the pathogen as identified by biological tests. The usefulness of race identification as a guide for the grower in selecting appropriate cultivars is limited because changes or shifts in the pathogen population are common. Such changes may be found among growing seasons, geographic regions and hosts, and also within a single greenhouse during a single season. On the other hand, race identification is important for basic research and is especially important for the commercial seed industry, which requires accuracy in declaring the type and level of resistance to powdery mildew in its products. http://www.phytoparasitica.org posting March 2, 2004. Contribution from the Agricultural Research Organization. No. 501/04.     

Rapid pregermination and germination responses of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Erysiphe pisi</Emphasis> conidia to contact and light

In darkness, most Erysiphe pisi conidia responded rapidly to contact with a hydrophobic artificial substratum and released extracellular material (ECM) in the same way as on pea cuticle. On this substratum and barley leaf epidermis, conidia then produced a germ tube that emerged close to the substratum, contacted it, and differentiated an appressorium. By contrast, on a hydrophilic substratum, ECM release and germination were delayed and infrequent, and germ tubes often emerged and faced away from the substratum toward vertical light, thereby failing to make contact and form appressoria. This finding supported the hypothesis that ECM release is involved in both triggering germination and sensing substratum contact. Exposure to white light dramatically affected the germ tube emergence site so most emerged from a site in the conidial wall facing the light. Lateral light did not affect the frequency of germ tubes making substratum contact; but when lit from above, most germ tubes emerged up, facing away from the substratum. The germ tubes formed in light were longer than those formed in darkness, but no phototropism was found for the elongating tubes. Examination of Blumeria graminis indicated that its conidia and germ tubes are insensitive to white light.     

Effects of light quality on conidiophore formation of the melon powdery mildew pathogen <Emphasis Type="Italic">Podosphaera xanthii</Emphasis>

The lengths of conidiophores in fungal colonies of the melon powdery mildew pathogen Podosphaera xanthii Pollacci KMP-6 N cultured under greenhouse (natural) conditions differed markedly from those cultured in a growth chamber. We hypothesized that light wavelength was responsible for the differences in conidiophore length. In this study, we examined the effects of light-emitting diode (LED) irradiation (purple, blue, green, orange, and red light) and white light on colony development and conidiophore formation in KMP-6 N using a stereomicroscope and a high-fidelity digital microscope. Colonies on leaves were flat under greenhouse conditions and under red LED light irradiation but were stacked under growth chamber conditions and under purple, blue, green, and orange LED light irradiation. In addition, KMP-6 N formed catenated conidia comprising six conidia per conidiophore under greenhouse conditions and red light but more than seven conidia per conidiophore under growth chamber conditions and purple, blue, green, and orange light. Furthermore, almost none of the conidia on top of the conidiophores grown under blue light were fully constricted. Therefore, these fungi could not scatter their conidia and spread infection. This is the first report of the effects of LED lights on conidiophore formation in the melon powdery mildew fungus P. xanthii. The results provide insight into the mechanisms underlying the responses of conidiophores to light of specific wavelengths and conidial scatter from conidiophores of melon powdery mildew fungi.     

Resistance to <Emphasis Type="Italic">Penicillium</Emphasis><Emphasis Type="Italic">hirsutum</Emphasis> Dierckx in garlic accessions

Among the factors affecting the quality and yield of garlic production, blue mold caused by -- Penicillium spp. -- is responsible for economical losses in many countries. Allicin, present in garlic bulbs, has been suggested as having antifungal activity against some Penicillium species. This study was conducted to evaluate the response of garlic accessions against Penicillium hirsutum infection and to compare this response with bulb allicin content. Twelve garlic accessions were inoculated with P. hirsutum, and assayed in greenhouse and growth chamber experiments. Plant growth parameters and the fungal production of conidia were evaluated. Significant differences were found among the accessions. Accessions Castaño and Morado were most resistant whereas AR-I-125 and Fuego were always severely affected by the disease. A low correlation was found (r = 0.17) between allicin content and tolerance, indicating that allicin is not the main factor involved in the resistance against P. hirsutum.     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">Eremothecium coryli</Emphasis> and <Emphasis Type="Italic">E.</Emphasis><Emphasis Type="Italic">ashbyi</Emphasis> cause yeast spot of azuki bean

Yeast-like fungi were isolated from lesions on azuki bean (cv. Shin-Kyotodainagon) seeds that had been sucked by bean bugs in Kyoto Prefecture, Japan. On the basis of morphological and physiological characteristics and sequence data of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) regions including the 5.8S rDNA, these yeasts were identified as Eremothecium coryli and E. ashbyi. Pathogenicity of those yeasts was confirmed by a reinoculation test. To our knowledge, this is the first report of the occurrence of yeast spot in azuki bean in Japan. The nucleotide sequence data reported are available in the GeneBank/EMBL/DDBJ database as accessions AB478291–AB478309 for E. coryli AZC1–19 and AB478310–AB478317 for E. ashbyi AZA1–8.     

Preliminary characterization of race-specific elicitors from<Emphasis Type="Italic">Peronospora parasitica</Emphasis> and their ability to elicit phenolic accumulation in<Emphasis Type="Italic">Arabidopsis</Emphasis>

Intercellular washing fluid (IWF) obtained from the susceptibleArabidopsis accession Ws-eds1 inoculated withPeronospora parasitica isolate Emoy-2, contained an elicitor of necrosis with ecotype specificity towardsArabidopsis accessions with particular resistance genes. This elicitor caused necrosis on the highly resistant accessions La-er, Nd-1 and partly on Col-5, but not on the susceptible accessions Ws-eds1 and Oy-0. In resistant plants, injection of IWF caused hypersensitive reaction (HR)-like cell collapse which was associated with the accumulation of phenolics and lignin-like material in walls of cells undergoing cell death. The elicitor is sensitive to proteinase K and pronase enzymes, heating and autoclaving but insensitive to periodate oxidation, freezing and thawing, and is not dialyzable. Results suggest that the elicitor is a protein. Fractionation experiments using size-exclusion membranes revealed that elicitor activity has a molecular weight in excess of 100 kDa. http://www.phytoparasitica.org posting July 13, 2003.     

Ultrastructural and cell wall modifications during infection of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Eucalyptus viminalis</Emphasis> roots by a pathogenic <Emphasis Type="Italic">Fusarium oxysporum</Emphasis> strain

Fusarium species are soil-borne fungal pathogens that produce a variety of disease symptoms when attacking crop plants. The mode of root colonization of Eucalyptus viminalis seedlings by a pathogenic F. oxyporum strain (Foeu1) at the ultrastructural level and changes in cell wall pectin during host pathogen interactions are described. Root systems of E. viminalis plants were inoculated with F. oxysporum in an in vitro model system. Hyphae of F. oxysporum adhered to the outer epidermal cell walls through fibrillar material, and after penetration they spread into the internal tissues. They developed intercellularly and intracellularly in the root cortex and invaded vascular tissues. Papillae were induced, and the host plasma membrane ruptured in colonized cells, causing rapid host tissue and cell damage. Changes in distribution and occurrence of nonesterified and methyl-esterified pectins were evaluated after root colonization by F. oxysporum using two monoclonal antibodies, JIM 5 and JIM 7, respectively. Nonesterified pectin in control roots was mainly localized in the epidermal cell walls and middle lamellae in parenchymal cortex, whereas methyl-esterified pectin accumulated more in primary cell walls of the cortex and phloem. Decreases in immunodetected nonesterified and methyl-esterified pectins were associated with extensive plant tissue degradation after root colonization by the pathogenic fungus.     

Existence of different physiological forms within genetically diverse strains of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Ampelomyces quisqualis</Emphasis>

Powdery mildew fungi are parasitized by strains of the genetically distinct Ampelomyces quisqualis. To investigate whether differences in the phylogeny and other cultural, morphological and physiological characteristics of these different strains are related to differences in their geographic origins or the host species from which they were isolated, several A. quisqualis strains isolated from different species of Erysiphaceae collected in different countries and possessing different ITS rDNA sequences were selected and characterized. The results revealed some significant variation among the selected strains, which provides evidence for the existence of different physiological forms within the A. quisqualis species. Two groups that display differential growth on artificial media were identified. These groups also differ in the morphology of their mycelium, but not in the morphology of their pycnidia and conidia. Temperature greatly affected the in vitro growth of the A. quisqualis strains and growth rate was closely correlated to colony color. Differences in the conidial germination of distinct strains were observed during the recognition phase of the parasitic relationship. The germination of each of the investigated strains was greatly stimulated by all of the examined powdery mildew species and not only by the conidia of their original hosts. An Italian strain isolated from grapevine in the Trentino Alto-Adige region was identified as the strain that germinates the most quickly in the presence of powdery mildew conidia. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that these A. quisqualis strains can be classified into five different genetic groups, which generally correlate with the fungal host of origin and morphological and growth characteristics.     

Cloning of the pathogenicity-related gene <Emphasis Type="Italic">FPD1</Emphasis> in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Fusarium oxysporum</Emphasis> f. sp. <Emphasis Type="Italic">lycopersici</Emphasis>

We selected a reduced-pathogenicity mutant of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici, a tomato wilt pathogen, from the transformants generated by restriction enzyme-mediated integration (REMI) transformation. The gene tagged with the plasmid in the mutant was predicted to encode a protein of 321 amino acids and was designated FPD1. Homology search showed its partial similarity to a chloride conductance regulatory protein of Xenopus, suggesting that FPD1 is a transmembrane protein. Although the function of FPD1 has not been identified, it does participate in the pathogenicity of F. oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici because FPD1-deficient mutants reproduced the reduced pathogenicity on tomato.The nucleotide sequence data reported are available in the DDBJ/EMBL/GenBank databases under the accession number AB110097     

Calcium silicate and organic mineral fertilizer increase the resistance of tomato plants to <Emphasis Type="Italic">Frankliniella schultzei</Emphasis>

Frankliniella schultzei Trybon (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) is an important pest of tomato plants. The need for more healthful foods is stimulating the development of techniques to increase plant resistance to phytophagous insects. The objective of this research was to evaluate the effect of calcium silicate and an organic mineral fertilizer, alone or in combination, on the resistance of tomato plants to F. schultzei. The treatments consisted of: control (T1), calcium silicate (T2), organic mineral fertilizer (T3), and calcium silicate with organic mineral fertilizer (T4). The mortality of nymphs of this thrips and the number of lesions on tomato leaves were evaluated after three, six, nine and 12 applications of these products. The number of F. schultzei individuals and of lesions on tomato leaves was lower in treatments T2 and T4 than in T1 and T3, showing a possible increase in tomato resistance to this pest. The increase in the number of applications of calcium silicate and the organic mineral fertilizer increased the mortality of nymphs and reduced the damage by this insect on tomato leaves, mainly after nine applications.     

Adzuki bean leaf infection by <Emphasis Type="Italic">Phytophthora vignae</Emphasis> f. sp. <Emphasis Type="Italic">adzukicola</Emphasis> and resistance evaluation using detached leaves inoculated with zoospores

We examined the response of adzuki bean leaves to infection by Phytophthora vignae f. sp. adzukicola and determined whether inoculated leaves can be used to evaluate cultivar resistance. Detached adzuki bean leaves were inoculated with zoospores, and the resulting symptoms were diagnosed. Resistant reactions were characterized by dark brown, speckled lesions or a lack of symptoms, while susceptible reactions were characterized by water-soaked spreading lesions. In an inoculation experiment using a combination of three differential cultivars and three races, the response of 10-day-old primary leaves accurately differentiate between race-specific resistance and susceptibility of adzuki cultivars.     

Genetic variation among <Emphasis Type="Italic">Fusarium</Emphasis> isolates from onion,and resistance to <Emphasis Type="Italic">Fusarium</Emphasis> basal rot in related <Emphasis Type="Italic">Allium</Emphasis> species

The aim of this research was to study levels of resistance to Fusarium basal rot in onion cultivars and related Allium species, by using genetically different Fusarium isolates. In order to select genetically different isolates for disease testing, a collection of 61 Fusarium isolates, 43 of them from onion (Allium cepa), was analysed using amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) markers. Onion isolates were collected in The Netherlands (15 isolates) and Uruguay (9 isolates), and received from other countries and fungal collections (19 isolates). From these isolates, 29 were identified as F. oxysporum, 10 as F. proliferatum, whereas the remaining four isolates belonged to F. avenaceum and F. culmorum. The taxonomic status of the species was confirmed by morphological examination, by DNA sequencing of the elongation factor 1-α gene, and by the use of species-specific primers for Fusarium oxysporum, F. proliferatum, and F. culmorum. Within F. oxysporum, isolates clustered in two clades suggesting different origins of F. oxysporum forms pathogenic to onion. These clades were present in each sampled region. Onion and six related Allium species were screened for resistance to Fusarium basal rot using one F. oxysporum isolate from each clade, and one F. proliferatum isolate. High levels of resistance to each isolate were found in Allium fistulosum and A. schoenoprasum accessions, whereas A. pskemense, A. roylei and A. galanthum showed intermediate levels of resistance. Among five A. cepa cultivars, ‘Rossa Savonese’ was also intermediately resistant. Regarding the current feasibility for introgression, A. fistulosum, A. roylei and A. galanthum were identified as potential sources for the transfer of resistance to Fusarium into onion.