Factors influencing biological traits and aggressiveness of Colletotrichum species associated with cashew anthracnose in Brazil |
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| Authors: | Josiene S Veloso Waléria G Lima Ailton Reis Vinson P Doyle Sami J Michereff Marcos P S Câmara |
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| Institution: | 1. Departamento de Agronomia, Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco, Recife, Brazil;2. Laboratório de Fitopatologia, Embrapa Hortaliças, Brasília, Brazil;3. Department of Plant Pathology and Crop Physiology, Louisiana State University AgCenter, LA, USA;4. Centro de Ciências Agrárias e da Biodiversidade, Universidade Federal do Cariri, Crato, Brazil |
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| Abstract: | Anthracnose is the main fungal disease on cashew orchards in Brazil, occurring on both vegetative and reproductive organs of cultivated and noncultivated host plants. Understanding the effect of physical and chemical exogenous factors on the biological traits of Colletotrichum spp. and determining their host range are key to developing appropriate anthracnose control measures. The present study aimed to estimate the optimum temperatures for mycelial growth, sporulation, and conidial germination of seven Colletotrichum species (C. chrysophilum, C. fragariae, C. fructicola, C. gloeosporioides, C. queenslandicum, C. siamense, and C. tropicale) associated with cashew anthracnose in Brazil. Their aggressiveness on cashew leaves and six alternative host fruits, and their sensitivity to three fungicides were also investigated. The optimum temperatures for mycelial growth, sporulation, and conidial germination ranged from about 25 to about 33°C. All Colletotrichum species induced anthracnose symptoms on wounded cashew leaves, but none of them caused lesions on intact leaf surfaces. The Colletotrichum species, except for C. fragariae and C. fructicola, were pathogenic to wounded fruits of avocado, banana, guava, mango, and papaya, and some isolates also produced lesions on nonwounded fruit tissues. No symptoms were observed on passion fruits, regardless of the inoculation method. Mycelial growth, sporulation, conidial germination, and/or appressorial formation of the seven Colletotrichum species were inhibited by azoxystrobin, difenoconazole, and thiophanate-methyl to varying degrees. The present study will contribute to the development of forecasting models based on prevailing weather of cashew cropping zones and improve cashew anthracnose management in Brazil. |
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| Keywords: | Anacardium spp chemical control cross-infection environmental conditions |
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