EFFECT OF TEMPERATURE ON GROWTH AND SPORULATION OF ALTERNARIA SPECIES FROM MUSTARD (BRASSICA SPP.) LEAF

Abstract

An experiment was conducted at Plant Pathology Laboratory, Oilseed Research center, Bangladesh Agricultural Research Inistitute (BARI), Joydevpur, Gazipur, Bangladesh to find out the effect of temperature on growth and sporulation of Alternaria species the causal agent of Alternaria leaf blight of mustard from 10 representative geographical locations of Bangladesh, during November 2015 to March 2016. All the isolates showed high level of variability in vitro in respect of radial mycial growth, colony colour, sub surface colour, colony shape, colony texture, zonation (surface and sub surface), length and width of conidia, beak length and number of septa. The maximum and minimum radial mycial growth was recorded 90 mm in isolate NAT and 83.67 mm in isolate GAZ Ab , respectively at 14

Ab days after incubation. Significant variation in conidial length, width, beak and no. of conidia observed in all isolates. The length of conidia ranged from 41.56 to 117.54µm with 3 to 11 transverse and 0 to 3 vertical septa. The width and beak length varied from 10.34 to 23.12 µm and 16.78 to 72.65 µm ,respectively. Surface colour were olivacious green to black and circular shaped colonies were observed in all isolates on PDA medium. Colony texture were cottony to velvety. Subsurface colour varied from light brown to black and pinkish. Zonation found in some isolates and some did not produce on both surface and subsurface. All conidia were murifrom and light brown to deep brown in colour. Potato Carrot Dextrose Agar mdium (PCDA) and 25 o C temperature were found optimum for different isolates for mycelial growth and sporulation.