Fusarium Infection of Eggplant: Disease Cycle and Management Strategies

Solanum melongena, also known as eggplant, is a widely consumed vegetable crop grown worldwide. However, it suffers from several diseases such as leaf spot, fruit spot, root spot, early blight, black dot of stem, wilt, damping-off, and root rot by fungal pathogens that reduce its productivity and life span. Fusarium is a fungal pathogen that causes diseases by releasing mycotoxins. It adheres to plant roots following events of pathogenesis. Various external factors such as type of soil, pH, and availability of iron are responsible for promoting virulence. Fungus uses divergent strategies to enter the host plant by manipulating mechanical pressure, chemical action, and direct entry through wounds and the stomata. Plant defense responses toward fungal pathogens depend on the developmental stage of the plant, fungal pathogenicity, and other environmental factors. Numerous phytochemical and defense signaling mechanisms get activated in response to attack of pathogens. To overcome crop losses potential efforts in controlling disease cycle such as biological control, chemical control, use of nanoparticles, compost amendments, and introduction of transgenic plants are applied and constantly being explored. This chapter discusses various aspects related to Fusarium infection in eggplant including diagnosis, role of environmental factors in promoting virulence with special reference to iron, plant’s defense responses against fungal invasion, and recent developments in disease management.