VIEW ARTICLE

Ecology and Epidemiology

Interaction of Fusarium Root Rot with Pea Aphid and Potato Leafhopper Feeding on Forage Legumes. K. T. Leath, Research Plant Pathologist, Agricultural Research Service, U. S. Department of Agriculture (also Adjunct Associate Professor Plant Pathology, Pennsylvania, State University), U. S. Regional Pasture Research Laboratory, University Park, PA 16802; R. A. Byers, Research Entomologist, Agricultural Research Service, U. S. Department of Agriculture (also Adjunct Assistant Professor of Entomology, Penn. State Univ.), U. S. Regional Pasture Research Laboratory, University Park, PA 16802. Phytopathology 67:226-229. Accepted for publication 11 August 1976. Copyright © 1977 The American Phytopathological Society, 3340 Pilot Knob Road, St. Paul, MN 55121. All rights reserved.. DOI: 10.1094/Phyto-67-226.

The development of root rot caused by Fusarium roseum was determined in alfalfa and red and white clover grown with and without stress caused by feeding of pea aphids (Acyrthosiphon pisum) on the foliage. Significantly more root rot developed in all forage species whenever plants were subjected to aphid feeding. Longevity of red clover plants with roots inoculated with F. roseum and of alfalfa plants inoculated with F. oxysporum was reduced significantly whenever the plants were subjected to aphid feeding. Significantly more plants died after subjection to the combined stress of feeding by potato leafhoppers (Empoasca fabae), root inoculations with F. roseum, and exposure to winter conditions.