Skip to content
Research Article Open access CC BY 4.0

Pathogenicity of Alternaria Species Causing Tomato Blight in Agro-Ecological Zones of Kirinyaga County in Kenya

Fredrick O. Ogolla, Moses M. Muraya, Benson O. Onyango

Asian Journal of Advances in Agricultural Research · pp. 7–24 · Published 22 Apr 2023

10.9734/ajaar/2023/v22i1430

Abstract

Tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill) is a highly consumed and produced vegetable crop with an annual global production of over 185 million tonnes. High consumption and production are due to its nutritional and health benefits. However, tomato production is characterized by inconsistent quality and yields, partly emanating from biotic constraints attributed to fungal foliar diseases. In Kirinyaga County, where tomato production is a significant source of livelihood, knowledge gaps exist regarding the identity of Alternaria species causing tomato blight in different Agro-ecological zones (AEZs) and the susceptibility of locally grown tomato varieties to the Alternaria pathogens. To address these gaps, we conducted a study to determine the characteristics of an Alternaria pathogen isolated from tomato leaves from different AEZs and assess the susceptibility level of some tomato varieties grown in Kirinyaga County. Pathogen characterization was done using phenotypic and molecular approaches, and the susceptibility assay was evaluated by artificial inoculation. The molecular characterization involved BLASTIN analysis of Sanger sequenced DNA nucleotide amplicons, and the use of NCBI databases. The susceptibility assay was carried out in the greenhouse using a completely randomized design. Data on the fungal conidial lengths (µm) and the susceptibility (%) of tomato varieties to fungal isolates were subjected to Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) with significance means separated using LSD at α = 0.05. The morphologies of the pathogens differed significantly (p <0.05). Molecular characterization implicated Alternaria solani, Alternaria cerealis, Alternaria arborescens, and Alternaria alternate in causing tomato blight. Tomato varieties differed in their susceptibility to Alternaria pathogens (p < 0.05). Kilele F1 (73.84%), and Terminator F1 (56.48%) were the most and least susceptible tomato varieties, respectively. Thus, Terminator F1 can serve as a source for the genetic improvement of tomato varieties in the Kirinyaga patho-system. Our study provides valuable information on the identification of Alternaria species causing tomato blight in different AEZs in Kirinyaga County and the susceptibility of locally grown tomato varieties to infection by Alternaria pathogen isolates. The findings can aid in the development of effective disease management strategies and the genetic improvement of tomato varieties in the area.

Alternaria solani A. cerealis A. arborescens A. alternate tomato Kirinyaga

References (52)

  1. 1 The neighbor-joining method: a new method for reconstructing phylogenetic trees. [DOI]
  2. 2 AMPLIFICATION AND DIRECT SEQUENCING OF FUNGAL RIBOSOMAL RNA GENES FOR PHYLOGENETICS [DOI]
  3. 3 The Genus Alternaria: Biology, Epidemiology, and Pathogenicity
  4. 4 Molecular diagnostics for fungal plant pathogens [DOI]
  5. 5 Tomato early blight (Alternaria solani): the pathogen, genetics, and breeding for resistance [DOI]
  6. 6 Theoretical Foundation of the RelTime Method for Estimating Divergence Times from Variable Evolutionary Rates [DOI]
  7. 7 Biodiversity and taxonomy of the pleomorphic genus Alternaria [DOI]
  8. 8 Current Status of Early Blight Resistance in Tomato: An Update [DOI]
  9. 9 Morphological changes in response to environmental stresses in the fungal plant pathogen Zymoseptoria tritici [DOI]
  10. 10 Importance of Molecular Data to Identify Fungal Plant Pathogens and Guidelines for Pathogenicity Testing Based on Koch’s Postulates [DOI]
  11. 11 Fast and reliable molecular methods to detect fungal pathogens in woody plants [DOI]
  12. 12 Recent advances in molecular techniques for the identification of phytopathogenic fungi – a mini review [DOI]
  13. 13 Alternaria species associated with early blight epidemics on tomato and other Solanaceae crops in northwestern Algeria [DOI]
  14. 14 Cultural, morphological, pathogenic and molecular variability amongst tomato isolates of Alternaria solani in India [DOI]
  15. 15 Identification of Alternaria spp. associated with tomato early blight in Iran and investigating some of their virulence factors [DOI]
  16. 16 Combating early blight infection by employing Bacillus subtilis in combination with plant fertilizers [DOI]
  17. 17 Review On Early Blight (Alternaria spp.) of Potato Disease and its Management Options
  18. 18 Controlling Alternaria cerealis MT808477 Tomato Phytopathogen by Trichoderma harzianum and Tracking the Plant Physiological Changes [DOI]
  19. 19 Phylogenetic, toxigenic and virulence profiles of Alternaria species causing leaf blight of tomato in Egypt [DOI]
  20. 20 Occurrence, Identification, and Pathogenicity of Fusarium spp. Associated with Tomato Wilt in Mexico [DOI]
  21. 21 Morphological and Physiological Characters of Alternaria alternata Causing Leaf Blight Disease of Onion [DOI]
  22. 22 Morphological, cultural, pathogenic and molecular studies of Alternaria brassicae infecting cauliflower and mustard in India [DOI]
  23. 23 Morphological, Pathogenic and Molecular Characterizations of Alternaria Species Causing Early Blight of Tomato in Northern India [DOI]
  24. 24 Evaluation of plant extracts for tomato late blight control in Cameroon [DOI]
  25. 25 Morphological and Physiological Characterization of Alternaria solani Isolated from Tomato in Jordan Valley [DOI]
  26. 26 SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION OF EARLY BLIGHT DISEASE ON TOMATO, CLIMATIC FACTORS AND BIOEFFICACY OF PLANT EXTRACTS AGAINST Alternaria solani [DOI]
  27. 27 Physiological and histopathological assessments of the susceptibility of different tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) cultivars to early blight disease [DOI]
  28. 28 First report of Cladosporium cladosporioides, C. oxysporum, and C. uredinicola as potential pathogens on tomato shoots system in Iraq [DOI]
  29. 29 Direct and indirect effects of forest microclimate on pathogen spillover [DOI]
  30. 30 MULTIPLE DISEASE RESISTANT SOURCES OF MUNGBEAN [DOI]
  31. 31 Diversity of fungal isolates associated with early blight disease of tomato from mid Himalayan region of India [DOI]
  32. 32 Morphological and Molecular Characterization of Alternaria solani and Phytophthora infestans Isolates from Tomato Farms in Kenya [DOI]
  33. 33 A modified fungal slide culture technique [DOI]
  34. 34 Tomato early blight (alternaria solani), pathogen, disease development and defense response phytohormone signaling
  35. 35 Diagnosis And In Vitro Control Of Tomato Leaf Spot Caused By Alternaria alternata In Sulaimani Governorate [DOI]
  36. 36 Evaluation of tomato genotypes for tolerance to major diseases in Uganda [DOI]
  37. 37 Occurrence of fungal foliar diseases of tomato in different agro-ecological zones of Kirinyaga County, Kenya [DOI]
  38. 38 GenotypexEnvironment Interaction for Resistance to Purple Blotch (Alternaria porri L. (Ellis) Cif.) in Onion (Allium cepa L.) in Nigeria* [DOI]
  39. 39 Identification of Fusarium spp. and their pathogenicity associated with root rot of tomato, Marvdasht.
  40. 40 Characterization of Alternaria Species Causing Early Blight of Tomato [DOI]
  41. 41 Spatial Distribution of Tomato Early Blight and Reaction of Some TomatoVarieties to the Disease in Southern Tigray, Ethiopia
  42. 42 International Journal of Current Microbiology and Applied Sciences [DOI]
  43. 43 African Journal of Microbiology Research [DOI]
  44. 44 World Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology 2008 [DOI]
  45. 45 PCR protocols — A guide to methods and applications [DOI]
  46. 46 Archives of Phytopathology and Plant Protection [DOI]
  47. 47 Early blight resistance in tomato: screening and genetic study [DOI]
  48. 48 Resistance to Early Blight in Potato and Genetic Structure of the Pathogen Population in Southeast Sweden
  49. 49 MEGA11: Molecular Evolutionary Genetics Analysis Version 11 [DOI]
  50. 50 Tomato diseases. Identification, Biology and Control: A colour handbook
  51. 51 Multiomic approaches reveal novel lineage-specific effectors in the potato and tomato early blight pathogen Alternaria solani [DOI]
  52. 52 Tomato Cultivation and Farmers’ Knowledge on Selected Foliar Fungal Diseases in Agro- Ecological Zones of Kirinyaga County, Kenya [DOI]

Cited by 1

Checklist of pests and diseases of fruits and vegetables in Bamenda, North West Region, Cameroon

TR Kinge, ME Bi, Divine Nsobinenyui · Plant Pathology & Quarantine · 2024

Article metrics

Real usage data collected on this platform.

25

Page views

0

PDF downloads

8

Outbound clicks

1

Citations

Views over time

Views by country

Approximate, from request IP at view time — not citizenship or institution. Countries with fewer than 5 views are grouped as "Other".

Traffic sources

Referring site, by host.

Views and downloads exclude known bots/crawlers. Citations combines this platform's own DOI-resolved index with each external source's own reported total — see Cited by above for individually listed citing works. Last refreshed 0 seconds ago.