Diseases

Verticillium wilt of sunflower

Helianthus annuus L.

A vascular disease of sunflower caused by the fungus Verticillium dahliae, manifesting during the flowering stage as necrotic leaf spots and browning of the stem vascular bundles.

In the reference 226 varieties crop Sunflower, where this is mentioned in the description.

Disease symptoms usually appear during the flowering and head formation period, starting from the lower leaves. Areas of turgor loss arise between the veins, acquiring a pale green or marbled shade, which subsequently necrotize to a bronze-brown color. A characteristic sign is the unilateral infection of the leaf blade or the plant, while cross-sections of stems and petioles show pronounced browning of the conducting vessels.

The pathogen Verticillium dahliae is represented by three physiological races and divided into defoliating and non-defoliating pathotypes, with European populations of the pathogen differentiated into regional genetic groups. The main tool for resistance breeding is the dominant V-1 gene, isolated from wild sunflower. However, the emergence of new pathogen strains is capable of overcoming this protection, which stimulates the search for new resistance loci in the crop genome.

General information about the subject — on the page Verticillium wilt.

Sources8

Varieties of Sunflower mentioned in the description

Selection based on the description text, not on official evaluation: these data are absent from registers. For specific variety details, please refer to its profile.