• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.391-394
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• 2005

Tomato seedlings (20- days old) were transplanted to infested soil with Orobanche cernua and non-infested soils. All plants were maintained under 0, 25, 50 and 75 mM NaCl soil salinity levels throughout their growing period under greenhouse conditions. Plants grown in O. cernua infested soil infIltrated with 0, 25, and 50 mM NaCl solution for salinity showed significant reduction in their growth as well as their total soluble carbohydrate and protein contents in compared with those grown in non-infested soil. However, under 75 mM NaCI salinity level all plants showed similar growth values whether they were grown in O. cernua infested or non-infested soil. Starting at the fifth and through out the eighth week after transplantation there was a significant increase in plant height in the 0, 25 and 50 mM NaCl irrigated plants over other treatments. Irrigation with 50 mM NaCl significantly reduced the emergence of O. cernua (2/plant) and the number of attachments (4.4 attachments) on roots of tomato. Furthermore, irrigation with 75 mM NaCl resulted in complete elimination of O. cernua emergence.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.148-151
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• 2003

Seeds of broomrape (Orobanche cernua) were exposed to 0, 25, 50, 75, and 100 mM NaCl solutions during their preconditioning period (14 days of moisture) under laboratory conditions and induced to germinate by synthetic germination stimulant (GR24). There was significant reduction in seed germination with increased salt concentration as shown in 35.2, 32.5, 23.6, 14.3, and 9.2% germination, respectively. Exposure of Orobanche cernua seeds to 0.0, 1.0, 1.25, and 1.5 M levels of NaCl for 9 hours resulted in 29.4, 21.3, 20.5, and 17.4% germination, respectively. Water preconditioned seeds showed Heavier protein profile bands of 6.5-14.2 KDa than those of dry seeds. Seeds treated with 0.75 M NaCl showed profile similar with that of water preconditioned ones, plus an extra band at 29-36 KDa. The protein profiles of 1.0 and 1.5 M NaCl treated seeds showed weaker bands with the absence of 29-36 KDa band.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.17 no.5
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• pp.257-263
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• 2001

Species of the genus Orobanche are parasitic flowering plants, holoparasites, which cling to the roots of green plants. Their tiny seeds (200 x $250\mu\textrm{m}$) germinate in response to chemical stimuli produced by host and some non-host plants. Successful contact with their host leads to development of haustoria for obtaining water and food. The shoots above the ground expose flowers and disseminate seeds. Several samples of Orobanche ramosa, O. crenata, O. cernua, and O. egyptiaca were collected from different localities in Jordan. These samples showed one of the following disease symptoms: dry rot at the base of the stem; general deterioration and expanded lesion from base upward; soft tissue maceration of stem; and black rot of flower parts with incomplete maturation of the ovary and seeds. Isolation from diseased stems and seeds was made on three different mycological media. Several fungi were isolated, mainly, Fusarium spp., Alternaria alternata, Rhizoctonia sp., Dendrophora sp., Chaetomium sp., and an ascomycetus fungus with a perithecium. Pathogenicity tests showed that Fusarium spp. and Alternaria alternata attacked healthy living tissue of Orobanche spikes. These fungi caused lesions of black soft rot and complete deterioration within 5-7 days. They also attacked Orobanche seeds, arresting their germination and causing maceration of non-germinated and germinated seeds after 5-7 days of incubation. Meanwhile, Dendrophora sp. and Chaetomium sp. caused limited lesion at first, but were able to colonize the tissue as it aged and senesced. This study showed the presence of a potential endogenous pathogenic fungi in Jordan, which can be investigated as a biological control for Orobanche.