Morphological modifications in wheat seedlings infected by Fusarium culmorum examined at SEM

Abstract

Fusarium culmorum is one of the most important pathogens of winter cereals in Italy and is typical of cereals grown in dry soils of temperate areas throughout the world. The fungus causes a range of diseases such as seedling blight, brown foot rot and ear blight. When tissue portions from the crown areas of durum wheat seedlings, at decimal growth stage (GS) 13, grown in F. culmorum inoculated compost were examined at the scanning electron microscope (SEM), they showed a damaged epidermal cell layer that exposed the parenchyma which was characterised by high cell proliferation, with widely spaced, irregularly shaped and loosely arranged cells. No damage was observed at root level.