First report of <i>Rhizoctonia solani</i> AG 2-3 on chickpea in Tunisia

Abstract

Chickpea plants (cv. Béja 1) showing typical symptoms of root and collar rots were collected from the Beja area (Tunisia). Visual diagnostic, isolation and microscopic observation identified the causal organism as Rhizoctonia solani. Sequence data of the ITS rDNA region confirmed the species identity and revealed that the anastomosis group of the isolate was AG2-3. Mechanical inoculation of chickpea seedlings resulted in the typical root and collar rot, proving that this isolate is pathogenic on chickpea. This is the first report of R. solani AG2-3 causing root and collar rot of chickpea in Tunisia.