Effects of crop rotation and removal of crop debris on the soil population of two isolates of Verticillium dahliae

Microsclerotia of Verticillium dahliae are produced in large numbers on senescing parts of host plants and remain viable in the soil for many years. Changes in the population density, i.e. density of microsclerotia, in the soil were measured in micro-plots using two isolates of V. dahtiae , specific to either field bean or potato, several crop sequences comprising potato, field beans and barley, and either the removal of aerial debris of the crops or incorporation into soil.
Potato was more susceptible to the potato isolate and field bean more susceptible to the field bean isolate. Removal of debris of potato and field bean reduced numbers of microsclerotia in the soil in the subsequent years, but removal of barley straw had no effect. Initially non-infested control micro-plots became infested, probably by the growth of potato roots into the naturally infested subsoil. The rate of increase of the microsclerotial population in the non-infested control micro-plots was larger than in the initially infested treatments, because more colonized debris was produced. It is concluded that removal of aerial debris of host crops is important to reduce the soil population of V. dahtiae.     

Relationships Between Verticillium dahliae Inoculum Density and Wilt Incidence, Severity, and Growth of Cauliflower

ABSTRACT Microplot and field experiments were conducted to evaluate the effects of inoculum density on Verticillium wilt and cauliflower growth. Soil containing Verticillium dahliae microsclerotia was mixed with various proportions of fumigated soil to establish different inoculum densities (fumigated soil was used as the noninfested control). Seven inoculum density treatments replicated four times were established, and the treatments were arranged in a randomized complete block design. Soil was collected from each microplot immediately after soil infestation for V. dahliae assay by plating onto sodium polypectate agar (NP-10) selective medium using the Anderson sampler technique. Five-week-old cauliflower was transplanted into two beds within each 1.2- by 1.2-m microplot. At the same time, several extra plants were also transplanted at the edge of each bed for destructive sampling to examine the disease onset (vascular discoloration) after planting. Cauliflower plants were monitored for Verticillium wilt development. Stomatal resistance in two visually healthy upper and two lower, diseased leaves in each microplot was measured three times at weekly intervals after initial wilt symptoms occurred. At maturity, all plants were uprooted, washed free of soil, and wilt incidence and severity, plant height, number of leaves, and dry weights of leaves and roots were determined. The higher the inoculum density, the earlier was disease onset. A density of 4 microsclerotia per g of dry soil caused 16% wilt incidence, but about 10 microsclerotia per g of soil caused 50% wilt incidence. Both wilt incidence and severity increased with increasing inoculum density up to about 20 microsclerotia per g of soil, and additional inoculum did not result in significantly higher disease incidence and severity. A negative exponential model described the disease relationships to inoculum levels under both microplot and field conditions. Stomatal resistance of diseased leaves was significantly higher at higher inoculum densities; in healthy leaves, however, no treatment differences occurred. The height, number of leaves, and dry weights of leaves and roots of plants in the fumigated control were significantly higher than in infested treatments, but the effects of inoculum density treatments were variable between years. Timing of cauliflower infection, crop physiological processes related to hydraulic conductance, and wilt intensity (incidence and severity) were thus affected by the inoculum density. Verticillium wilt management methods used in cauliflower should reduce inoculum density to less than four micro-sclerotia per g of soil to produce crops with the fewest number of infected plants.     

The relationship between soil inoculum density and plant infection as a basis for a quantitative bioassay of Verticillium dahliae

Using potato, eggplant and thorn apple as test plants, the relationship between soil inoculum density and plant infection was studied as a basis for the development of a quantitative bioassay of Verticillium dahliae. A linear relationship was demonstrated (P < 0.05) between soil inoculum density and population density on roots for all three test plants and for soil inoculum density and population density in sap extracted from stems for eggplant. Correlation coefficients were higher with densities on or in roots (R² varying from 0.45 to 0.99) than with densities in stems (R² varying from 0.04 to 0.26). With eggplant, population densities on/in root and in sap extracted from stems were significantly correlated at 20 and 25°C with Pearson's correlation coefficients of 0.41 and 0.53, respectively. For potato, root colonization was higher at 15 than at 20°C, whereas the reverse applied to eggplant. Stems of potato were less colonized than stems of eggplant. The pathozone sensu Gilligan (1985) was calculated to be <300 µm, indicating that infection was caused by microsclerotia which were located close to the roots. To assess the density of V. dahliae in plant tissue pipetting infested plant sap on solidified ethanol agar medium without salts yielded higher densities than using pectate medium or mixing sap with molten agar. A bioassay for determining effects of (a)biotic factors on development of V. dahliae in the plant is recommended with eggplants as a test plant, grown in soil infested with 300 single, viable microsclerotia g^-1 soil at a matric potential of –6.2 kPa, and incubated at 20°C for 8 weeks.     

Development of an assay for rapid detection and quantification of Verticillium dahliae in soil

ABSTRACT Verticillium dahliae is responsible for Verticillium wilt on a wide range of hosts, including strawberry, on which low soil inoculum densities can cause significant crop loss. Determination of inoculum density is currently done by soil plating but this can take 6 to 8 weeks to complete and delay the grower's ability to make planting decisions. To provide a faster means for estimating pathogen populations in the soil, a multiplexed TaqMan real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay based on the ribosomal DNA (rDNA) intergenic spacer (IGS) was developed for V. dahliae. The assay was specific for V. dahliae and included an internal control for evaluation of inhibition due to the presence of PCR inhibitors in DNA extracted from soil samples. An excellent correlation was observed in regression analysis (R(2) = 0.96) between real-time PCR results and inoculum densities determined by soil plating in a range of field soils with pathogen densities as low as 1 to 2 microsclerotia/g of soil. Variation in copy number of the rDNA was also evaluated among isolates by SYBR Green real-time PCR amplification of the V. dahliae-specific amplicon compared with amplification of several single-copy genes and was estimated to range from ≈24 to 73 copies per haploid genome, which translated into possible differences in results among isolates of ≈1.8 cycle thresholds. Analysis of the variation in results of V. dahliae quantification among extractions of the same soil sample indicated that assaying four replicate DNA extractions for each field sample would provide accurate results. A TaqMan assay also was developed to help identify colonies of V. tricorpus on soil plates.     

Manipulating inoculum densities of Verticillium dahliae and Pratylenchus penetrans with green manure amendments and solarization influence potato yield

We used cover crops with demonstrated efficacy against Verticillium dahliae and Pratylenchus penetrans in combination with the biocidal practice of solarization to determine the importance of targeting both organisms for managing potato early dying, an issue relevant to the search for alternatives to soil fumigation. Two experiments were conducted in commercial fields using a split-plot design with cover crop treatments of rapeseed, marigold, forage pearl millet, sorghum-sudangrass, and corn as the main plot factor and solarization as the subplot factor. Cover crops were grown and solarization applied in year one, followed by potato in year two. The main effect of solarization was significant for reduced inoculum levels of both organisms in year two and increased tuber yields. The main effect of cover crop was also significant with lower population densities of P. penetrans following the marigold and millet treatments and of V. dahliae following rape and sorghum-sudangrass. The cover crop treatments influenced yield in only one of the experiments in the absence of solarization. The combinatorial effect of cover crops and solarization resulted in a wide range of pathogen population densities. Mean soil inoculum levels were negatively related to yield for V. dahliae in experiment 1, and for P. penetrans and the P. penetrans × V. dahliae interaction in both experiments.     

Effect of plant roots on the germination of microsclerotia ofVerticillium dahliae

Induction of germination of microsclerotia by exudates from plant roots may be important for the control ofV. dahliae. Laboratory experiments with root observation boxes were carried out to assess the influence of root tips of seven crop species and cultivars on the germination of microsclerotia ofVerticillium dahliae in soil under controlled conditions. The root density of crops was measured in a field experiment. The results of the laboratory experiments and the field experiment were combined to estimate the total effect of crops on the population of microsclerotia in the field. Germination of microsclerotia was stimulated by all crops compared to a control without a crop. Among crops, roots of potato cvs Element and Astarte had a larger stimulation effect on microsclerotia than that of potato Ostara, pea, flax, sugar beet or onion. The number of hyphae per microsclerotium decreased with distance from the root surface regardless of the crop species or cultivar. Differences in root densities, in the affected root zones and in the stimulation effect on germination of microsclerotia caused large differences among crops in the effect on the population of microsclerotia in the soil. However, growing a rop with the special purpose to reduce the level ofV. dahliae inoculum in the soil is an inefficient control measure, because only a small part of the total soil volume is affected by roots and the number of hyphae per microscleroium affected is too low.Abbreviations MS microsclerotia, microsclerotium     

Mechanism of broccoli-mediated verticillium wilt reduction in cauliflower

ABSTRACT Broccoli is resistant to Verticillium dahliae infection and does not express wilt symptoms. Incorporation of broccoli residues reduces soil populations of V. dahliae. The effects of broccoli residue were tested on the colonization of roots by V. dahliae, plant growth response, and disease incidence of both broccoli and cauliflower in soils with different levels of V. dahliae inoculum and with or without fresh broccoli residue amendments. The three soils included a low-Verticillium soil, a high-Verticillium soil, and a broccoli-rotation soil (soil from a field after two broccoli crops) with an average of 13, 38, and below-detectable levels of microsclerotia per g of soil, respectively. Cauliflower plants in broccoli-amended high-Verticillium soil had significantly (P 相似文献   

The influence of verticillium wilt epidemics on cotton yield in southern Spain

Experiments were conducted in the Guadalquivir Valley of Andalucía, southern Spain, in 1986 and 1987, using field plots naturally infested with different inoculum densities of the defoliating and nondefoliating pathotypes of Verticillium dahliae to determine the influence of verticillium wilt epidemics on yield of cotton cultivar Coker 310. The total number of bolls, the number of open bolls, and seed cotton yield were related to the growth stage of plants at first appearance of foliar symptoms, and to inoculum density and virulence of the V. dahliae pathotype prevailing in the soil. For the three yield components, the greatest reduction was observed in plants showing symptoms before opening of first flowers (about 650 degree-days after sowing). Yield increased with delay in the development of foliar symptoms during the crop season, and the effect of the wilt epidemics on yield was small or nil for plants that developed symptoms after opening of the first bolls (1400–1500 degree-days after sowing). A multiple regression equation was derived that related yield reduction to the physiological time accumulated from the time of sowing until the appearance of foliar symptoms and to the rate of disease intensity increase over physiological time. This multiple point model explained about 70% of the variation in cotton yield loss due to verticillium wilt.     

Inoculum levels ofVerticillium dahliae in the soils of the hot semi-arid negev region of Israel

In the Negev area,Verticillium dahliae Kleb. produces 50 times more microsclerotia (MS) on potato plants harvested in the winter than on those harvested in the summer. Number and distribution of viable fungal units, subsequent to incorporation of infected potato plants and during a sequence of non-susceptible hosts, were estimated in February of the following years by counting fungal units in four sublayers: 0–10, 10–20, 20–30 and 30–40 cm. Inoculum density ofV. dahliae was the highest in the top layer, decreasing to the deepest sublayer. Reduction of population density of viableV. dahliae units was less in the field than in the laboratory. No viable units were detected after 5 years of storage in the laboratory, whereas 4% of the original population remained viable after 7 years of crop rotation. Although crop rotation did not control the fungus completely, it did reduce inoculum density markedly.     

Detection of Colletotrichum coccodes and Helminthosporium solani in soils by bioassay

The sensitivity of a bioassay in detecting soil inoculum of Colletotrichum coccodes and Helminthosporium solani was examined using potato minitubers and microplants. Tests were conducted on soils which were collected from fields in which the interval after a previous potato crop differed, and which were also artificially infested with conidia or microsclerotia. For C. coccodes , determining plant infection based on the occurrence of infected roots after 9–12 weeks was a sensitive method for detecting and quantifying the amount of inoculum in soil. Infestations of less than 0·4 microsclerotia per g soil were detected in artificially infested soils. A semiselective medium, developed for isolating C. gloeosporioides from pepper, detected soil infestations by C. coccodes as low as nine conidia or one microsclerotium per g soil in artificially infested soil. For H. solani , infection on minitubers was a sensitive measure, with soil inoculum of fewer than 10 conidia per g soil being detected. Soil infestation could be quantified by assessing the percentage surface area of minitubers covered by sporulating lesions, which was strongly related to the amount of soil infestation. The results of these bioassay tests were compared with published results for real-time quantitative PCR assays on the same soils. The two methods were in good agreement in artificially infested soils, but the bioassay appeared to be more sensitive with naturally infested soils.     

土壤大丽轮枝菌微菌核的快速定量检测

 微菌核是大丽轮枝菌在土壤中的主要存活结构和黄萎病的初侵染来源。对土壤中大丽轮枝菌微菌核进行定量是黄萎病监测和预警的基础。本研究以大丽轮枝菌Internal Transcribed Spacer (ITS)区特异性引物对P1/P2扩增产物的重组质粒为标准品,构建SYBR Green I实时荧光定量PCR反应的标准曲线,结合土样水筛法建立了土壤大丽轮枝菌微菌核定量检测体系。同时,建立了土壤中微菌核数量与棉花黄萎病发病率的关系模型。结果表明,实时定量PCR检测灵敏度比常规PCR高10倍,检测下限为1个微菌核/克土,在5.54×10²～5.54×10⁷copies范围内,DNA拷贝数的对数值与Ct值具有良好的线性关系。建立的土壤中微菌核个数n与Ct值之间的关系为n=e^7.3-Ct/3.905。温室人工接种微菌核数量与棉花黄萎病发病率间的线性关系为y=2.710n+0.251。     

Disease Progress Based on Effects of Verticillium dahliae and Pratylenchus penetrans on Gas Exchange in Russet Burbank Potato

ABSTRACT The interactive effects of concomitant infection by the nematode Pratylenchus penetrans and the fungus Verticillium dahliae on symptom expression in Russet Burbank potato was studied in growth chamber experiments. Treatments were P. penetrans at three initial densities, V. dahliae at one inoculum density, the combination of the nematode at these three densities and the fungus, and a noninfested control. Gas exchange was measured nondestructively in leaf cohorts of different ages, one to three times weekly, with a LI-COR portable photosynthesis system. The single-pathogen treatments had no effect on assimilation or transpiration rates, but joint infection had a significant impact. In concomitant infection, photosynthesis was impaired more than transpiration, so estimates of leaf health were based on carbon assimilation rates only. Reductions in assimilation rate were apparent before the onset of visual symptoms. Assimilation rates decreased as much as 44% in the top, and newest, leaves of concomitantly infected plants, compared to rates in control plants. Even so, the health of newly produced leaves did not become progressively worse through time. With light use efficiency less than 0.20 mol of CO(2) fixed per mol of photosynthetically active radiation used as the criterion for disease incidence, disease progressed acropetally from the oldest to the youngest leaves. In plants infected with P. penetrans (0.8 nematodes per cm(3) of soil) in combination with V. dahliae, all leaves in cohorts 1 and 2 were symptomatic by 45 days after planting, and leaves in cohorts 3 to 6 became symptomatic at weekly intervals thereafter. For the control and single-pathogen treatments, the first time that light use efficiency fell below 0.20 in all leaves in cohort 1 was 71 days after planting. Concomitant infection reduced leaf life span by about 3 weeks. Both visual and physiological symptom expression were invariant to differences in initial nematode inoculum densities ranging from 0.8 to 2.5 nematodes per cm(3) of soil in one experiment and from 1.3 to 4.1 nematodes per cm(3) of soil in a second experiment.     

北疆棉花黄萎病发病率调查及土壤中黄萎病菌微菌核数量与种群类型分析

为了解北疆棉花黄萎病的发生情况及发病与土壤中黄萎病菌微菌核数量的关系和病原菌种群类型, 2021年对北疆石河子?奎屯?博乐等8市(县)棉田棉花黄萎病发病率?土壤中黄萎病菌的微菌核数量?菌株种群类型进行了抽样调查?结果表明, 北疆未发生棉花黄萎病的棉田占49.2%, 0%<发病率<5.0%的棉田占32.7%, 发病率≥5.0%的棉田占18%?与2013年?2015年相比, 2021年无病田率分别增加17.7和12.7百分点, 发病率≥5%的棉田分别减少15.7和21.6百分点?从棉田黄萎病发病率与土壤中微菌核数量的关系来看, 整体上北疆棉田棉花黄萎病发病率与微菌核数量相关性不显著(r=0.119 1); 分区域看, 石河子-沙湾片区?奎屯-乌苏片区?精河-博乐片区棉田黄萎病发病率与微菌核数量的相关系数分别为0.033 2?0.007 6?0.062 3, 均无显著相关性; 而呼图壁-玛纳斯片区棉田黄萎病发病率与微菌核数量的相关系数为0.635 7, 呈中度正相关?土壤中的黄萎病菌菌株以菌核型为主, 占57.9%, 菌丝型占23.2%, 中间型占18.9%?用特异性引物进行PCR检测表明, 土壤中黄萎病菌落叶型菌株占97.6%, 占绝对优势?本研究将为北疆棉区棉花黄萎病的综合防控提供理论依据?     

Inoculum potential of Pythium arrhenomanes in soils from three crop rotation experiments

Soil from crop rotation experiments at three different sites was tested by using bait plants and a most probable number (MPN) method to estimate the inoculum potential of Pythium arrhenomanes in terms of the density of infective units. Recorded values varied between 0 and 85 infective units/kg soil. In soil from one of the sites the inoculum densities following barley monoculture were significantly higher than those from crop rotations, whether sampled in the spring or autumn. At the other two sites, which had consistently lower inoculum densities, small effects of rotation treatment were also recorded when they were sampled in the autumn. However, the results did not support the tentative conclusions of earlier studies, that inoculum of P. arrhenomanes could be a major cause of yield reduction in barley monoculture. The MPN method cannot be recommended for predicting expected disease levels of P. arrhenomanes , unless the infective unit can be carefully defined and its relation to yield loss reliably established.     

一种新的棉花黄萎病快速接种技术及其在病原菌致病力和寄主抗病性鉴定上的应用

 棉花品种抗黄萎病鉴定一般在田间病圃中进行,其结果受病圃中病原菌分布均匀程度、气象等因素影响极大,往往导致鉴定结果不准确。为了使鉴定方法简单、科学、可靠,我们在温室条件下比较了3种苗期接种棉花黄萎病的方法,即切根蘸孢子法(接种浓度为10⁶分生孢子/mL);菌培养物土壤接种法(0.5%、1%、2%,w/w);微菌核土壤接种法(10³个微菌核/g土)。结果表明,切根蘸孢子法导致棉苗发病均匀、严重、迅速,播种35~45 d后即可得到均匀一致的发病结果。而其它2种接种方法在播种75 d后才得到相对稳定的发病结果。同时,研究还表明接种浓度为10⁴分生孢子/mL所导致的黄萎病显著比10⁵或10⁶的轻。利用切根蘸孢子法在室内鉴定12个棉花品种或品系的抗黄萎病能力,证明该方法是抗黄萎病快速鉴定的有效方法。此外,该鉴定方法还可快速鉴定黄萎病菌不同菌株的致病性,并可应用于作物对其它土传病害的抗病性鉴定上。     

Relationships between stem canker, stolon canker, black scurf (Rhizoctonia solani) and yield of potato (Solanum tuberosum) under different agronomic conditions

Relationships between diseases caused by Rhizoctonia solani on different parts of potato plants ( Solanum tuberosum ) at different stages of crop growth were investigated under selected agronomic conditions. The effects of different densities of tuber-borne inoculum, date of planting, irrigation, size of seed tubers and their interactions on the incidence of stem and stolon canker during crop growth, the incidence and severity of black scurf and the yield of progeny tubers at harvest were quantified in a multifactorial experiment. Differences in the incidence of stem canker, stolon canker and black scurf were dominated by the effect of density of inoculum on seed tubers at planting. Highly positive correlations between the disease variables indicated a close relationship between the incidence of disease at each stage of crop growth although the degree of association between variables measured at an early growth stage and those measured at progressively later stages of crop growth weakened as the time interval increased. Total yield of progeny tubers was not affected by the density of tuber-borne inoculum although there was a shift in the size distribution, with a decrease in the yield of main-sized tubers and an increase in the yield of baker- and oversized tubers at the higher density of inoculum. Of the remaining factors, the effect of season tended to be more pronounced than any of the agronomic treatments although the use of irrigation and later dates of planting did influence the incidence of infection to a limited extent.     

Phytophthora infestans in a subtropical region: survival on tomato debris, temporal dynamics of airborne sporangia and alternative hosts

Little is known about inoculum dynamics of late blight caused by Phytophthora infestans in tropical/subtropical areas, particularly in Brazil. The objectives of the present study were to assess (i) the survival of the pathogen on stems, leaflets and tomato fruits, either buried or not in soil; (ii) the pathogenicity of P . infestans to mostly solanaceous plant species commonly found in Brazil that could act as inoculum reservoir; and (iii) the temporal dynamics of airborne sporangia. Phytophthora infestans survived in tomato plant parts for less than 36 days under greenhouse and field conditions. In greenhouse tests, pathogen structures were detected earlier on crop debris kept in dry than in wet soil conditions. Isolates of two clonal lineages of P. infestans , US-1 from tomato, and BR-1 from potato, were inoculated on 43 plant species. In addition to potato and tomato, Petunia  ×  hybrida and Nicotiana benthamiana were susceptible to the pathogen. Airborne inoculum was monitored with Rotorod and Burkard spore traps as well as with tomato and potato trap plants. Sporangia were sampled in most weeks throughout 2004 and in the first two weeks of 2005. Under tropical/subtropical conditions, airborne inoculum is abundant and is more important to late blight epidemics than inoculum from crop debris or alternative hosts.     

Response of Six Potato Cultivars to Amount of Applied Water and Verticillium dahliae

ABSTRACT Six potato cultivars were grown with or without the addition of Verticillium dahliae inoculum and were watered at 50, 75, or 100% estimated consumptive use. The applied water x cultivar interaction was significant (P = 0.009 and P = 0.001 for 1996 and 1997, respectively) for the relative area under the senescence progress curve (RAUSPC). With a decrease in water, there was an increase in RAUSPC. A significant interaction of inoculum density x cultivar also was found, based on RAUSPC (P = 0.0194 and P = 0.0033 for 1996 and 1997, respectively). In V. dahliae-infested plots, 'Katahdin' and 'Ranger Russet' were resistant to Verticillium wilt. Population size of V. dahliae in stem apices was significantly lower in 'Katahdin' in both 1996 and 1997 (P = 0.0001) and in 'Ranger Russet' in 1997 (P = 0.0001) than in the other cultivars. 'Russet Burbank' and 'Shepody' had large apical stem populations of V. dahliae and higher RAUSPC values associated with both V. dahliae inoculum and decreased amount of applied water. Marketable tuber yield was unaffected by V. dahliae in both years. Cultivar resistance to Verticillium wilt was related to cultivar tolerance to moisture deficit stress. Results suggest that moisture deficit stress response has the potential to be a useful tool in protocols for screening potato for Verticillium resistance.     

Towards a mechanistic model for the Verticillium dahliaepotato system

Development ofVerticillium dahliae in potato was modelled by coupling aVerticillium subroutine to an existing potato crop growth model, using mainly biologically meaningful and measurable parameters. The model, written in FORTRAN77, describes disease development in single plants. Stem base infection is modelled as a stochastic process. The average effect on the crop is calculated by taking the average of model reruns. The parameters of the potato crop growth model were calibrated in advance of those of theVerticillium subroutine. By doing so, corrections can be made for lack of fit in the potato growth model. Calibration of theVerticillium subroutine was performed using experimental field data of two years at two microsclerotial density levels. The results of the calibration procedure of theVerticillium subroutine improved strongly when the results of runs of both microsclerotial densities were expressed in one combined goodness of fit value. Simulation of root infection and incidence of stem colonization byV. dahliae were in line with experimental data. However, deviances from data from the literature at inoculum densities which were not used in the calibration procedure indicate that calibration has to be performed using more field data and also incorporating more parameters like those describing fungal dynamics. Optimal runs were obtained at pathozones of c. 30 μm, which may indicate that infections occur only when a microsclerotium is very close to the root.     

Spatial Patterns of Microsclerotia of Verticillium dahliae in Soil and Verticillium Wilt of Cauliflower

ABSTRACT The spatial patterns of microsclerotia of Verticillium dahliae in soil and wilt symptoms on cauliflower were determined at three sites in each of two fields in 1994 and 1995. Each site was an 8 x 8 grid divided into 64 contiguous quadrats (2 by 2 m each). Soil samples were collected to a depth of 15 cm with a probe (2.5 cm in diameter), and samples from four sites in each quadrat were bulked. Plants in each quadrat were cut transversely, and the number of plants with vascular discoloration and the number without discoloration were recorded. The soil was assayed for microsclerotia by the modified Anderson sampler technique. Lloyd's index of patchiness (LIP) was used as an indicator to evaluate the aggregation of microsclerotia in the field. Spatial autocorrelation and geostatistical analyses were also used to assess the autocorrelation of microsclerotia among quadrats. The LIP for microsclerotia was greater than 1, indicating aggregation of propagules; however, the degree of aggregation at most sites was not high. Significant autocorrelation within or across rows was detected in some spatial autocorrelograms of propagules, and anisotropic patterns were also detected in some oriented semivariograms from geostatistical analyses for microsclerotia, indicating the influence of bed preparation in the fields on pathogen distribution. The parameter estimates p and theta in the beta-binomial distribution and the index of dispersion (D) associated with the distribution were used to assess the aggregation of diseased plants at each site. A random pattern of wilt incidence was detected at 7 of 12 sites, and an aggregated pattern was detected at 5 of 12 sites. The degree of aggregation was not high. A regular pattern of wilt severity was detected at all sites. The high disease incidence (77 to 98%) observed at 11 of the 12 sites could be explained by high inoculum density.