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Salicornia bigelovii, an annual halophyte found along the seacoast of Sonora, Mexico, is being evaluated as a new forage and oilseed crop for the coastal deserts of Mexico. An indigenous soilborne fungus (Macrophomina phaseolina) infected roots and caused mortality of Salicornia bigelovii in both experimental plantings and in native populations growing in an estuary. Although M. phaseolina is widely recognized as a root pathogen of agricultural crops, its presence and pathogenic activity in a marine habitat has not been reported.