In recent years, twister disease of onion has become epidemic in coastal tract and other onion growing districts of Karnataka which caused heavy loss. Survey carried out during kharif and rabi/summer 2011-12 and 2012-13 revealed typical symptoms of the disease twisting of leaf, neck with blight as well as dieback (anthracnose), scanty root system with galls and showing fungal growth was noticed. Artificial inoculations of onion seedlings with Colletotrichum gloeosporioides, Fusarium oxysporum, Meloidogyne spp. alone and in combinations expressed twister disease symptoms. Metabolomic changes like increased total sugars and growth hormones (IAA and GA) were seen. Test for pathogenicity demonstrated that twister disease complex whereby the based on all these studies we have proposed a model disease cycle for this twister disease complex. | Etiology of twister disease complex in onion
