Multi-pathogen interactions associated with mulberry root rot disease

Mulberry is a deciduous perennial plant that lost sturdiness with repetitive harvest, making it susceptible to abiotic and biotic stresses. Root rot, like widespread disease caused by omnipresent pathogens, could infect short-term besides well-grown aged crops with established root systems. Numerous soilborne fungal pathogens caused crop loss due to root rot disease in mulberry reported in almost all soil types. Further, the complexity among the pathogens intensified the loss that occurred. The present study was carried out to record/ visualize the type of interaction among the pathogens viz., M. phaseolina (MPCK2), F. solani (KV1), L. theobromae (DP1), A. rolfsii (SR1), and R. solani (TK2) isolated from root rot infected mulberry plants. With the observation, we explored that fast-growing pathogens occupy more space, even overgrown on slow growers. However, a mutual interaction was noted mostly, and negative interactions between the pathogens, like replacement inhibitive, were absent. It showed that the multiple pathogens intensified the host infection without harming each other in the same host, time, and habitat. Hence, necessitates the development of a management strategy to combat two or more pathogens at a time.. KEYWORDS :Complexity of pathogens, mulberry root rot, mutual interaction