Infection by Neopestalotiopsis spp. occurs on unwounded eucalyptus leaves and is favoured by long periods of leaf wetness |
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| Authors: | R Belisário C E Aucique-Pérez L M Abreu S S Salcedo W M de Oliveira G Q Furtado |
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| Institution: | Departamento de Fitopatologia, Universidade Federal de Viçosa, campus Universitário, Avenida Peter Henry Rolfs, Viçosa, MG, Brazil |
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| Abstract: | Brazil is the leader in the global ranking of forest productivity; however, one of the major challenges to eucalyptus production is the existence of fungal diseases. A severe epidemic caused by pestalotiopsis-like fungi was observed in a forest nursery in Brazil, causing a huge impact on the eucalyptus micropropagation stages. The aims of the present study were to identify the causal agents associated with pestalotiopsis leaf spot and dieback in eucalyptus, assess their pathogenicity to different commercial clones, and evaluate which conditions favour conidial germination and infection by the pathogens. Multilocus phylogenetic analyses using ITS, TEF and TUB identified the isolates as members of Neopestalotiopsis and segregated them into three species. Isolates from all Neopestalotiopsis spp. caused symptoms on unwounded eucalyptus leaves and disease development was strongly dependent on long leaf wetness periods (≥72 h). All four commercial clones tested were susceptible to the pathogen. These results clearly dispute the commonly held assumption that pestalotioid fungi are weak and opportunistic pathogens. This is the first report of different phylogenetic species of Neopestalotiopsis causing dieback, leaf and stem lesions in eucalyptus cuttings and provides a basis for developing novel disease management strategies in forest nurseries. |
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| Keywords: | eucalyptus forest nursery leaf spot leaf wetting Neopestalotiopsis spp |
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