Intra population diversity in Rhizocotonia bataticola causing dry root rot of chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) in India

Fifty isolates of dry root rot pathogen Rhizoctonia bataticola collected from different agro-climatic zones in India were evaluated for the degree of subdivision in isolates level. The isolates showed variability in pathogenicity test. Genetic characteristics were analyzed based on the sequence of the rDNA-internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region. The phylogenetic tree based on rDNA-ITS analysis showed that the maximum number of R. bataticola isolates were very diverse and did not depend on geographical origin. Both pathological and molecular data correlated each other and supported that the R. bataticola present in India were very diverse and independent to their origin.