Fusarium wilt of Coleus forskohlii caused by Fusarium oxysporum in China

Since 2005, a wilt disease on Coleus forskohlii of high severity has been observed in Tongcheng County, Hubei province, China, with the annual crop area affected estimated to be over 100 ha. Symptoms of disease, which included leaves wilting, stem brown discolouration and root rot, were observed after seed germination of C. forskohlii during the spring and summer growing seasons. After isolation and pathogenicity testing, the pathogen was identified as Fusarium oxysporum on the basis of morphological and cultural characteristics. Subsequent analysis of the internal transcribed spacer region of ribosomal DNA and the beta-tubulin gene sequence confirmed F. oxysporum as the causal agent. This is the first report of F. oxysporum infecting C. forskohlii worldwide.