Response of Solanum lycopersicum L. to Fusarium oxysporum During Germination and Seedling Stages

Due to the widespread distribution of F. oxysporum, the search for mechanisms of tolerance to this disease in Solanum lycopersicum L. is an ongoing endeavor. This research aimed to identify F. oxysporum-tolerant genotypes at the germination and seedling stages in order to use them as sources of resistance. Ninety-six tomato lines were inoculated with the F. oxysporum strain with NCBI accession key PQ187438. The germination test was carried out in a germination chamber at a constant temperature of 28 ± 2 °C with 70 ± 5% relative humidity in darkness for the first 3 days and then 7 days with light. Clustering and discriminant analysis identified 14 genotypes with tolerance, showing great seed vigor and lower disease severity. Seedling evaluation was conducted in a floating raft system for 10 days after inoculation. Nine genotypes showed greater tolerance to the pathogen by developing a larger leaf area and accumulating more dry matter (p ≤ 0.05). No genotypes with tolerance were identified at both phenological stages (germination and seedling), indicating that tolerance mechanisms are independent at both phenological stages, so genotype selection should be carried out independently.