Figure 2: FA facilitates the pathogenicity of F. oxysporum on R. glutinosa.

F. oxysporum cultured in nutrient solution at 1 × 10⁴ macroconidia per ml was treated withincreasing concentrations of FA for 2 days and was then used to inoculate 6-leaf-stage R. glutinosa plants. After 9 days, the plants with root rot and vascular bundle browning were counted and assessed a scale of 0–5 as follows: 0, healthy without any browning; 1, white shoot with scarce browning; 2, light shoot rot and browning; 3, mild shoot rot and browning; 4, severe shoot rot and browning; and 5, death of the whole plant. The statistical enrichment (A) for each treatment were demonstrated through the R Programming Language software. The mean disease index (B) for each treatment was tested. The data are presented as the mean of three independent replicates, with n = 6 plants per replicate. The error bars represent the standard error of the mean. Different letters indicate significant differences between groups according to one-way ANOVA followed by a post-hoc LSD test (P < 0.05). Photographs (C) of infected samples were the root rot symptoms and the vascular bundle browning symptoms which assessed at each scale.