Plant Desiccation and Root Rot in Rosemary: Insight into Macrophomina phaseolina, Ceratobasidium sp. and Fusarium falciforme Roles in Co-Infection

Eliana Dell’Olmo, Giovanna Serratore, Alessandro Mataffo, Giovanni Ragosta, Giovanna Napoletano and Loredana Sigillo ()
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Eliana Dell’Olmo: Council for Agricultural Research and Economics—Research Centre for Vegetable and Ornamental Crops, Pontecagnano Faiano, 84098 Salerno, Italy
Giovanna Serratore: Council for Agricultural Research and Economics—Research Centre for Vegetable and Ornamental Crops, Pontecagnano Faiano, 84098 Salerno, Italy
Alessandro Mataffo: Department of Agricultural Sciences, University of Naples Federico II, Portici, 80055 Napoli, Italy
Giovanni Ragosta: Council for Agricultural Research and Economics—Research Centre for Vegetable and Ornamental Crops, Pontecagnano Faiano, 84098 Salerno, Italy
Giovanna Napoletano: Council for Agricultural Research and Economics—Research Centre for Vegetable and Ornamental Crops, Pontecagnano Faiano, 84098 Salerno, Italy
Loredana Sigillo: Council for Agricultural Research and Economics—Research Centre for Vegetable and Ornamental Crops, Pontecagnano Faiano, 84098 Salerno, Italy

Agriculture, 2025, vol. 15, issue 21, 1-20

Abstract: Rosmarinus officinalis (rosemary) is one of the most cultivated Lamiaceae species because of its medicinal, aromatic and ornamental properties. In the late summer of 2023, symptoms of desiccation were observed in a rosemary field located in southern Italy and the isolation from necrotic roots revealed three different fungal species: Ceratobasidium sp., Fusarium falciforme and Macrophomina phaseolina . All the isolates were morphologically and molecularly identified and Koch’s postulates assays were performed to establish the pathogenicity and the effect of each fungus on the disease incidence and severity. A dual plate method was used to investigate the interaction between Ceratobasidium sp., F. falciforme and M. phaseolina , mixing them in pairs and all together. Similarly, in vivo inoculations with the pathogens in combination were used to verify the role of each isolate in the interaction with the others and the contribution in plant disease expression. The results allowed to identify M. phaseolina and F. falciforme as causal agents of desiccation and root rot of rosemary, with M. phaseolina being the most aggressive between the two. Conversely, Ceratobasidium sp. behavior was influenced by the interaction with the other pathogens and the plant. Notably, this is the first report of M. phaseolina and F. falciforme on rosemary plants worldwide. This disease, caused by multiple pathogens, highlighted the crucial role of the combination of traditional in vivo assays and the use of molecular methods to achieve an accurate diagnosis.

Keywords: rosemary; root rot; Ceratobasidium sp.; Fusarium falciforme; Macrophomina; complex (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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