Pea wilt disease in Pakistan

Pea wilt has never been as important as the pea cultivation in Pakistan. There was a large research gap for the investigation of Pea diseases, particularly the wilt. We started our research over eight pea varieties including three commercial and five advance lines, that were sown under natural conditions for the onset of Pea wilt disease. After a natural screening, only four varieties were selected for further studies. Infected samples of wilt disease were collected along with healthy ones. After confirmation of Fusarium oxysporum fsp. pisi , we investigated biochemical and growth parameters. These parameters were compared with the parameters of healthy plants taken from the same variety. According to the results, the protein content and N were increased significantly after the development of infection. While P, K, Ca, Mg, and Zn were reduced. Growth parameters as fresh plant weight, dry plant weight, shoot length and No. of pods/plant were also reduced in the infected plants while root length remained unaffected as compared to non-infected plants. There were three replicates and experiment was laid out according to Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD).