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Authors: C. N. Akem , H. A. Melouk
Sclerotia of Sclerotinia minor were soaked in a conidial suspension (1.3 × 107 conidia/mL) of Penicillium citrinum at 25 ± 2 C for 1 h. This resulted in coating each sclerotium with about 3.7 × 104 conidia. Treated sclerotia were incubated either in the dark on dry or damp Whatman No. 1 filter paper or in pasteurized and nonpasteurized soil at 25 ± 2 C, for up to eight weeks. Colonization by P. citrinum of sclerotia incubated on damp or dry filter paper was 70 and 25%, respectively. Seventy four percent of sclerotia incubated in pasteurized soil were colonized and destroyed by P. citrinum, whereas 55% colonization and destruction occurred in sclerotia incubated in a nonpasteurized soil. Similarly treated sclerotia of Sclerotinia sclerotiorum variety major and Sclerotium rolfsii were incubated in pasteurized soil and colonized by P. citrinum at 45 and 5%, respectively, over the same period of time. Up to 50% colonization and destruction by P. citrinum has been observed on sclerotia of S. minor recovered from soil in a peanut field in Oklahoma. These findings suggest a potential use of P. citrinum as a biocontrol agent for S. minor.
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Keywords: Groundnut, Arachis hypogaea L
How to Cite: Akem, C. & Melouk, H. (1987) “Colonization of sclerotia of Sclerotinia minor by a potential biocontrol agent, Penicillium citrinum¹”, Peanut Science. 14(2). doi: https://doi.org/10.3146/i0095-3679-14-2-4