Allelelic Interactions in the Root System of Sunflower
Biological controls of sunflower downy mildew are based on chemical pesticides and cultural practices. However, reports indicate that chemical control of sunflower downy mildew is not effective. Besides, continuous identification of new populations of Plasmopara halstedii threatens the use of resistant sunflower hybrids. Thus, there is a need to study and develop more effective weed control measures for sunflower. A study was conducted to assess the effect of five entomopathogenic fungi on downy mildew severity in sunflower. Plants were inoculated with four x 104 zoospores mL-1 of each fungal strain. Amplification of the 28S rDNA and ribosomal DNA of each fungal strain was performed. The results showed that the presence of Plasmopara halstedii was not significantly influenced by EF. On the other hand, EF reduced some growth parameters of sunflower plants, while it did not affect sunflower plant height, dry weight, and root length. However, downy mildew incidence was significantly low...