Pythium spp. Associated with Root Rot and Stunting of Winter Crops in North Carolina

Annual double-crop rotation systems that incorporate winter wheat, clary sage, or a cover crop are common in eastern North Carolina. Stunting and root rot of clary sage (Salvia sclarea L.) reduce yields of this crop, especially in wet soils. Stunting and reduced stand establishment also afflict winter cover crops, including rye, rapeseed, and winter pea. Pythium spp. are causal agents of root rot of winter wheat in this region, but their role in root rot and stunting of other winter crops is not understood. During the growing seasons of 2018 to 2019 and 2019 to 2020, samples of clary sage, rye, rapeseed, and winter pea displaying symptoms of stunting were collected across eastern North Carolina, resulting in the recovery of 420 isolates of Pythium from the roots of all hosts. Pythium irregulare, Pythium spinosum, and the complex Pythium sp. cluster B2A were the species most frequently isolated from clary sage. P. irregulare and P. spinosum were aggressive pathogens of clary sage at 18°C and caused moderate root rot at 28°C. Koch’s postulates confirmed that isolates belonging to Pythium sp. cluster B2A, Pythium sylvaticum, Pythium pachycaule, Pythium aphanidermatum, Pythium myriotylum, and Pythium oopapillum are pathogens of clary sage. P. irregulare (37% of all isolates) and members of the species complex Pythium sp. cluster B2A (28% of all isolates) constituted the majority of isolates collected from all hosts and were the species most frequently isolated from rye, rapeseed, and winter pea. In pathogenicity assays, isolates representing P. irregulare and P. spinosum caused slight to moderate root necrosis on rye, rapeseed, and winter pea. Isolates representing Pythium sp. cluster B2A caused slight to moderate root necrosis on rapeseed and clary sage, but no symptoms on rye or winter pea.