Race 4 identification of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense from Cavendish cultivars in Hainan province, China (2008)

Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense from Hainan province, southern China, was identified by colony morphology on modified Komada medium (K2 medium). Forty isolates of F. oxysporum f. sp. cubense obtained from Cavendish cultivars randomly sampled from 20 banana farms in Hainan Province, China, formed laciniated colonies on modified K2 medium. None of the isolates of F. oxysporum f. sp. cubense sampled from 10 'Gros Michel' cultivars in five other banana farms in Hainan with the same method and six other Fusarium species preserved in our laboratory formed laciniated colonies on the same medium. The results showed that it is a simple, rapid and reliable method to identify F. oxysporum f. sp. raza cubense 4.