Resumen
- In Colombia, climate change causes an increased incidence of waterlogging and flooding in many agricultural areas, affecting crops, such as the cape gooseberry, which is very prone to Fusarium oxysporum. In a greenhouse, 2-month-old seed propagated cape gooseberry plants, grown in 2-L pots filled with horticultural soil+sand (70:30 vol%) that was previously inoculated with F. oxysporum, were waterlogged continuously for 6 days, from day 2 to 8 of the experiment. Plant growth parameters were evaluated for 30 days and compared to the control (without waterlogging or Fusarium inoculation). The combination of the two stresses severely reduced the root variables of dry weight (DW) and length, and the diameter of root collar, unlike that observed with just waterlogging or infection with F. oxysporum. The leaf growth variables were less affected than those of the roots. The combination of F. oxysporum + waterlogging significantly reduced the leaf area and drastically decreased the root:shoot ratio, on a DW basis, from 0.45 to 0.14. The co-occurrence of the two stresses increased the effect of each of the two stress factors in a synergistic manner, especially reducing the root growth parameters of the cape gooseberry plants, demonstrating the impact that waterlogging and Fusarium stress can have on plant growth when combined.