Rhizoctonia solani
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Rhizoctonia_solani".

Rhizoctonia solani (Anamorph)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Fungi Phylum: Basidiomycota Class: Basidiomycetes Subclass: Agaricomycetidae Order: Polyporales Family: Corticiaceae Genus: Rhizoctonia Species: R. solani
Binomial name
Rhizoctonia solani J.G. Kühn 1858
Synonyms
Moniliopsis aderholdiiRuhland 1908 Moniliopsis solani (J.G. Kühn) R.T. Moore 1987 Rhizoctonia grisea (J.A. Stev.) Matz 1920 Rhizoctonia napaeae Westend. & Wallays 1846 Rhizoctonia solani var. solani J.G. Kühn 1858

Rhizoctonia solani (teleomorph: Thanatephorus cucumeris) is a plant pathogenic fungus with a wide host range and worldwide distribution. It is one cause of the condition known as damping off, which is a cause of death of seedlings in agriculture. It is also responsible for wire stem, a disease of cabbage, cauliflower and related plants that is similar to damping-off but attacks older seedlings and produces a constricted, wiry stem.

Identification

Rhizoctonia solani does not produce spores, hence it is identified only from mycelial characteristics. Its hyphal cells are multinucleate. Also, it produces white to deep brown mycelium when grown on artificial medium. The hyphae are 4-15 μm wide and tend to branch at right angles. A septum near each hyphal branch and a slight constriction at the branch are diagnostic. R. solani is subdivided into anastomosis groups (AG) based on hyphal fusion between compatible strains.^[1][2]

The teleomorph of R. solani is Thanatephorus cucumeris. It forms club-shaped basidia with four apical sterigmata on which oval, hyaline basidiospores are borne.

References

1. ^ Wiese, M.V. (1987). Compendium of wheat diseases. American Phytopathological Society, 124 pp.. 
2. ^ APSnet Education Center - Plant Disease Lessons - Rhizoctonia disease of turfgrass - Pathogen Biology. Plant Pathology / Plant Disease Online - The American Phytopathological Society.

This Basidiomycota-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

This plant disease article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.