Clonostachys rhizophaga and other fungi from chickpea debris in the Palouse region of the Pacific Northwest, USA.

In 2003, 2008 and 2009 isolates of Clonostachys sp.were recovered from post-harvest chickpea debris.  Representative isolates were identified as C. rhizophaga on the basis of 99% similarity of β-tubulin DNA sequences to those of the type strain and 100% similarity to representative strains, including isolates reported as highly aggressive on chickpea in Syria. In strong contrast to the report from Syria, our isolates of C. rhizophaga from the U.S. Pacific Northwest (PNW) did not induce severe wilt when artificially inoculated on seed of chickpea line ICC 12004, even at elevated temperatures. Two instances of wilt (1.3 % of all inoculated plants) and occasional, usually transient, negative effects on emergence were documented.  Chickpea debris was dominated by common saprobic fungi in Alternaria , Cladosporium and Ulocladium .  Mycoparasitic fungi isolated from chickpea debris included C. rhizophaga , Cephalotrichum stemonitis and Harzia verrucosa , the latter two documented from chickpea for the first time.  C. rhizophaga is already proven as mycoparasitic on Ascochyta rabiei (the primary fungal pathogen of chickpea), but C. stemonitis did not prove mycoparasitic on that fungus, and H. verrucosa did not remain viable in culture.