Towards a better understanding of agronomic and soil basis for possible charcoal root rot control and production improvement in bean

Abstract

Macrophomina phaseolina causes charcoal root rot (CRR) in numerous crops worldwide. However, structural progression of CRR epidemics in association with bean agro-ecosystems is little understood. Thus, progression of CRR epidemics in interaction with 13 agro-ecological variables was characterised in 48 commercial bean fields. Frequency of pathogen isolated from root was assessed at vegetative (V3), flowering-podding (R6-7) and pod maturity (R9) growth stages. Two principal factors accounting for 89% of total data variance characterised CRR epidemics. Rhizobial nodulation and cultivation–depth, clay–pH, date–preceding crop, urea–bean class and urea–herbicide interactions accounted for 50% CRR epidemic dynamics. Sixty-five percent of production variance was explained by soil clay, bean class, colonisation, planting date and depth, cultivation method, preceding crop, nodulation, herbicide and urea application. The present findings enabled us to explain a noticeable part of variations in productivity among the bean CRR pathosystems with the help of certain agricultural and environmental events for sustainable agriculture purposes.