The effect of glyphosate on resistance of tomato to Fusarium crown and root rot disease and on the formation of host structural defensive barriers

Abstract

Colonization of root tissues in tomato seedlings genetically resistant to Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. radicis-lycopersici Jarvis & Shoemaker occurred following exposure to a sublethal concentration of the herbicide glyphosate (1.0 mM for 24 h prior to inoculation). The glyphosate-induced colonization was associated with an inefficiency in incorporation of phenolic materials into the papillae and into the modified cortical cell walls normally formed in response to this pathogen. Glyphosate-induced susceptibility decreased when the glyphosate was applied at 24 or 48 h after inoculation. Plants supplied with exogenous L-phenylalanine failed to exhibit reduced susceptibility after glyphosate exposure. In radial growth bioassays, growth of the fungus was unaffected by 4.0 mM glyphosate. α-Aminooxyacetic acid, an inhibitor of phenylalanine ammonia lyase, also increased the severity of the disease in resistant plants. Glyphosate also induced susceptibility to an isolate of F. solani f.sp. pisi, which was normally not pathogenic to tomato.