Asparagus Emergence in Fusarium-treated and Sterile Media following Exposure of Seeds or Radicles to One or More Cinnamic Acids

Several cinnamic acids have been identified as principal toxic components of asparagus (Asparagus officinalis L.) root autotoxin and have been shown to synergize Fusarium infection of asparagus. The basis for this synergism was studied by exposing asparagus seeds and radicles from pregerminated seeds to ferulic (FA), caffeic (CA), or methylenedioxycinnamic (MDA) acids alone and in combinations of two or three of these acids. After treatment, seeds were placed in pots of peat-lite mix, and, depending on the experiment, all or half were inoculated with F. oxysporum (Schlecht) f. sp. asparagi (Cohen). Seedling emergence from each pot was used as a measure of toxicity. All cinnamic acids at 1% suppressed emergence compared with the control. Solutions combining FA and CA (0.5%/0.5%, v/v) were substantially more toxic than 1% solutions of either alone. Exposure of radicles (early postgermination) for 10 minutes to combined FA/CA before planting decreased emergence from pots, whereas emergence following a 10-minute exposure to 1% CA or FA alone did not differ from the controls. The 2-hour exposure to FA or to FA/CA and the 24-hour exposure to CA, FA, or FA/CA decreased emergence, with toxicity progressing as follows: CA \u3c FA \u3c FA/CA. Root tip squashes showed fewer mitotic figures in treated than in untreated radicles, and scanning electron microscopic (SEM) examination of the radicle epidermis revealed damage to the surface of epidermal cells and precocious root hair development, the extent of which paralleled treatment toxicity