Effect of nutrient sources on growth of Fusarium spp. causing pod rot of mungbean

Mungbean, a short-duration crop well-suited to dryland conditions, is cultivated in India during both the kharif and rabi/summer seasons. Recent years have witnessed a significant challenge in mungbean seed production due to pod rot caused by Fusarium equiseti and Fusarium chlamydosporum. This study investigates the growth characteristics of these pathogenic fungi under varying nutrient conditions. We evaluated eight different culture media to identify an optimal basal medium for the growth of these pathogens. Our findings indicate that both F. equiseti and F. chlamydosporum exhibited the highest colony growth rates on Potato Dextrose Agar, followed by Czapek’s Dox Agar, Richard’s Agar, and Corn Meal Agar. Furthermore, the fungi demonstrated varying abilities to utilize different carbon and nitrogen sources. Nutritional analysis revealed that sucrose, as a carbon source, and potassium nitrate, as a nitrogen source, were most effective in promoting the growth of both F. equiseti and F. chlamydosporum.