Tomato early blight (Alternaria solani): Location and transmission

Abstract

Tomato is one of the popular vegetable crops grown in India and Tamilnadu. Early blight is the most important disease of tomato caused by Alternaria solani which is seed borne in nature can reduce the seed germination and yield up to 70%. Current study is on the location and transmission of Alternaria solani in tomato seeds. A total of 100 seed samples were collected from seed producers and farmers across Tamilnadu. Seed was extracted from the collected fruits and subjected to various seed health testing methods. Five samples showing higher incidence of seed borne fungi were selected for studying the location and transmission of the pathogen. The results revealed that, Alternaria solani percentage of infection was detected to be higher under Standard Blotter Method (18%). Locality of Alternaria solani ranged up to 35% in seed coat, 48% in cotyledons and 17% in embryonic axis and the field experiments shown 42% seed to seed transmission of the pathogen.