Effect of Culture Media on Cultural and Morphological Characteristics of Sclerotium rolfsii

The present study was undertaken to assess the influence of different culture media on the mycelial growth and cultural characteristics of Sclerotium rolfsii, an important soil-borne pathogen responsible for collar rot in several crops. Eight culture media, namely Potato Dextrose Agar (PDA), Sabouraud Maltose Agar, Oat Meal Agar, Coon’s Agar, Corn Meal Agar, Ashby’s Mannitol Agar, Czapek’s Dox Agar, and Richard’s Agar were evaluated under in vitro conditions. Significant variation in radial growth, colony morphology and pigmentation were recorded among the tested media. Maximum mycelial growth was observed on Potato Dextrose Agar (90.00 mm), which was statistically at par with Sabouraud Maltose Agar (89.68 mm) and Oat Meal Agar (89.65 mm). Minimum growth was recorded on Czapek’s Dox Agar (67.86 mm). The colony characters ranged from cottony, fluffy, irregular to compact mycelium, while pigmentation varied from pure white to creamy and yellowish white depending on the medium. These results clearly indicate that PDA, Sabouraud Maltose Agar and Oat Meal Agar are the most suitable media for luxuriant growth and sporulation of S. rolfsii, and can be recommended for cultural variability studies, pathogenicity assays and further research on this pathogen.