Carbon and nitrogen nutrition of plant pathogenic fungi associated with basal stem rots of cowpeas, Vigna unguiculata (L) Walp in Nigeria.

Pythium aphanidermatum, Rhizoctonia bataticola (syn. = Macrophomina phaseolina), Botryodiplodia theobromae, and two strains of Sclerotium rolfsii readily utilized for growth the monosaccharides glucose, fructose and mannose, the disaccharides sucrose and maltose and the polysaccharides dextrin and starch. In addition, S. rolfsii grew appreciably well on carboxymethylcellulose (CMC). When filter paper (nature cellulose) was supplied as sole carbon source, it was decomposed by B. theobromae, S. rolfsii (SR2) and R. bataticola. In studies on nitrogen utilization, B. theobromae grew best on glutamic acid, P. aphanidermatum on glycine and the two strains of S. rolfsii on ammonium nitrate. R. bataticola utilized casein hydrolysate most effectively for growth. EDTANa2 was a poor nitrogen source for all the pathogens.