Effect of temperature, pH and media on the growth and sporulation of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici causing wilt of tomato

Twenty four (24) different isolates of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici (FOL) were collected and isolated from fourteen different states including different agroclimatic condition of India from the plant showing typical wilting symptom. The influences of temperature, pH and culture media on the growth and sporulation of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici were examined under laboratory condition in Petri plates. Different temperature condition i.e. 15–40°C, pH ranges from 4.5 to 8.5 and different media namely Corn meal agar (CMA), V-8 juice agar medium (V-8 JA), Oat meal agar (OMA) and Potato dextrose agar (PDA) were used to find out the effect of different environmental condition on the mycelial growth and sporulation of FOL in vitro. The most favorable temperature range for growth and sporulation of the pathogen was 25°C to 30°C. Slightly acidic medium with a pH of 5.5 and 6.5 supported profuse growths and conidia production of all the FOL isolates while in case of culture media OMA was observed to be the best medium suited for the growth and sporulation of the FOL isolates.