Characterization of Fusarium falciforme inciting wilt in peace lily (Spathiphyllum wallisii)

• Severe wilt was first-ever observed in Spathiphyllum plants at commercial nurseries. • Morphological and multi-gene analysis confirmed the pathogen as Fusarium falciforme. • Pathogenicity tests recorded its significance in other important solanaceous crops. • Carbendazim and tebuconazole were effective as prophylactic and curative management. Severe wilt incidence with characteristic yellowing of older leaves was observed in Spathiphyllum plants of different commercial nurseries of Andhra Pradesh, India during 2021–2023. Upon isolation on potato dextrose agar medium, the fungus displayed aerial greyish white mycelium on upper surface and with yellow pink pigmentation on the lower surface. Microscopic observation of the three types of conidia namely microconidia, macroconidia and chlamydospores confirmed the morphological identity of the pathogen as genus Fusarium . Multi-gene sequencing analysis, utilizing ITS, Tef-1α, RPB1, and RPB2 gene sequences, further confirmed the pathogen's identity at the species level as Fusarium falciforme . Pathogenicity assays in 30 days old Spathiphyllum plants demonstrated that yellowing of leaves was observed seven days after pathogen inoculation using a non-invasive method, followed by complete wilting of the plants within 15 days. In addition, host range analysis revealed that the isolated pathogen isolate from wilted Spathiphyllum plants could cause complete wilting within 12–15 days post-inoculation in other economically important solanaceous crops such as tomato, brinjal, chili and tobacco, further highlighting its economic significance. Studies evaluating different fungicides revealed that root zone application of carbendazim 50 %WP at 1 g/l and tebuconazole 25.9 % EC at 1 ml/l were effective in controlling wilt incidence, achieving 77.78 % reduction as a prophylactic treatment and 66.67 % reduction as a curative treatment. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first comprehensive study on Spathiphyllum wilt incidence and its management worldwide.