F. M. P. Viana

Diseases of cashew nut plants (Anacardium occidentale L.) in Brazil

Abstract Cashew is an extremely important source of income for thousands of people in the Brazilian Northeastern—in growing the plant, in harvesting the nuts, in processing the kernels and apples, and in marketing the products. Diseases have been reported to cause significant cashew yield loss in Brazil, a major cashew-producing country. Anthracnose is by far the most important disease. Other foliar infections, namely black mould, angular leaf spot and powdery mildew are considered of lesser importance. Gummosis of branches and trunk has increased its severity in all northeastern producing states. Nematode attack has so far not been detected in this crop. Fungal deterioration of kernels, a pre- and post-harvest problem, causes losses of million of dollars per annum. The spraying of pesticides in Brazilian cashew plantatations is seldom practiced by most farmers due to economic and social reasons. Some diseases are more severe on dwarf cashew clones than on common tall cashew plants.

Isolation, identification, and activity in vitro of killer yeasts against Colletotrichum gloeosporioides isolated from tropical fruits

A total of 580 yeasts strains, isolated from Ceara State of Brasil, were evaluated for their ability to produce killer toxin. Of these strains, 29 tested positive for the killer phenotype and were further evaluated for their ability to control Colletotrichum gloeosporioides germination in vitro. All yeast strains that expressed the killer phenotype were characterized by sequencing the D1/D2 regions of the large subunit of the rRNA gene. Five yeast strains provided a significant reduction in mycelial growth and conidial germination of C. gloeosporioides in vitro, especially Meyerozyma guilliermondii, which was able to reduce the fungal mycelial growth on solid medium (potato dextrose agar (PDA)) by 60% and block 100% of conidia germination in liquid media (potato dextrose broth (PDB)). Filtering and autoclaving the liquid cultures had no effect on the growth of the pathogen. These results indicate the potential use of antagonist yeasts isolated from tropical fruits in the control of anthracnose caused by C. gloeosporioides in papaya. Further elucidation of main mechanisms involved on anthracnose control by these yeasts could be helpful for the development of biocontrol techniques related to the management of this disease in tropical fruits.

First report of black branch dieback of cashew caused by Lasiodiplodia theobromae in Brazil.

Cashew nut (Anacardium occidentale) is one of the most important cash crops of northeastern Brazil. A new disease, named here as black branch dieback, caused by Lasiodiplodia theobromae, was observed causing serious damage on as many as 30% of the trees in some orchards in both coastal and inland semiarid cashew-growing areas of Ceará and Piauí states of Brazil, respectively. The disease symptoms are first observed as darkened, elongated lesions on stems near the branch apexes of herbaceous tissues. Gum exudation is common from lesions, which expand rapidly to affect the entire branch, leading to branch death. Diseased plants were collected, and L. theobromae was consistently isolated from canker tissues. Fresh mycelial disks of the fungus were used for artificial inoculation of healthy plants. Shoots of young cashew plants were inoculated on the apex by inserting a 3-mm plug taken from actively growing colonies on potato dextrose agar into an incision made with a sterile scalpel. Agar plugs with no mycelium were placed into incised plant shoots to serve as controls. Plants were incubated in a greenhouse at 28°C. Symptoms developed within 15 days after inoculation. Artificially inoculated plants showed symptoms similar to those that were naturally infected. L. theobromae was consistently reisolated from inoculated plants. The disease seems to occur throughout the year, but it spreads faster during the rainy season. A contagious disease pattern within the orchard was observed with a decreasing gradient from the orchard perimeter to the interior of the field, suggesting an external source of primary inoculum. All improved dwarf cashew clones were susceptible, but the newly released clone END-189 was the most susceptible. Black branch dieback may reduce tree growth, nut yield, and eventually cause plant death. Plant susceptibility is not related to its age however; only herbaceous tissues are vulnerable to natural infection. A similar disease on floral shoots of cashew caused by L. theobromae was reported by Olunloyo and Esuruoso in Nigeria (1). To our knowledge, this is the first report of L. theobromae causing branch dieback in cashew orchards in Brazil. Reference: (1) O. A. Olunloyo and O. F. Esuruoso. Plant Dis. 59:176, 1975.

A new eremophilane-type sesquiterpene from the phytopatogen fungus Lasiodiplodia theobromae (Sphaeropsidaceae)

O fungo fitopatogenico Lasiodiplodia theobromae, isolado de goiaba, foi cultivado em arroz por 32 dias a temperatura ambiente. Extracao com CH2Cl2:MeOH (3:7), seguido de fracionamento cromatografico do extrato forneceu o esteroide ergosterol. Da cultura fungica em meio de Czapeck por 40 dias a temperatura ambiente, foram isolados a isocumarina cis-4-hidroximeleina e um sesquiterpeno do tipo eremofilano. O sesquiterpeno eremofilano esta sendo descrito pela primeira vez na literatura. Este e o primeiro relato do isolamento de um sesquiterpeno eremofilano para o genero Lasiodiplodia.

Ocorrência endofítica de Lasiodiplodia theobromae em tecidos de cajueiro e sua transmissão por propágulos

Lasiodiplodia theobromae, agent of gummosis and black branch dieback of cashew, is the most important disease of cashew crop in semi-arid regions of northeastern Brazil. This pathogen is a well known fungus in many host plants as capable of colonizing their tissues without showing disease symptoms. This feature ensures great epidemiologic importance as considering tactics for disease avoidance. The occurrence of cashew gummosis in geographically isolated areas reinforces the seed and scion borne pathogen hypothesis. The objectives of this study were to determine the ability of L. theobromae to survive in cashew tissues without showing symptoms and to evaluate plant propagating materials (seed and scion) as source of primary inoculum. The presence of the fungus at different distances from the canker throughout the stem in both ascendant and descendent direction was determined by plating infected tissue samples. In another study, transplanting materials were produced by using rootstocks from seeds sampled either from healthy and gummosis-infected plants and grafted with scions also from healthy and gummosis-infected plants, making a four set of treatments. These plants were transplanted into a commercial cashew farm located in Pio IX, County, Piaui State, highly conducive for disease outbreak. L. theobromae was isolated from up to 80 cm distance from canker in both directions. Greater gummosis incidence was observed in plots initiated by rootstock and scion originated from diseased plants. These findings showed the endophytic behavior of L. theobromae in cashew tissues and the importance of rootstock seed as a source of primary inoculum.

Efeito da interação temperatura-tensão de água sobre a germinação de microescleródios de Macrophomina phaseolina

In tropical regions and warm temperature regions, Macrophomina phaseolina is a causal agent of root, stem, and fruit decay in more than 500 cultivated plants species. However, not much is known about the influence of temperature and soil humidity in the germination of microsclerotia. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of temperature-water tension interaction in the sand substract on the germination of microsclerotia of the fungus. This work was carried out under laboratory conditions and involved two phases. In the first phase the effect of the interaction of five temperatures with two water tension levels was evaluated. In the second phase, the effect of the interaction of two temperatures with six water tension levels was evaluated. A completely randomized design with factorial arrangement and four replications was used for both experiments. The results showed (P<0.05) that the greatest percents of germination occurred at 30 oC and 33 oC. At water a tension of -1,500 kPa microesclerotia germination occurred at all temperatures tested. The water tension of -80 kPa tended to show the highest percent of germination, although it did not differ from -8, -300 and -1,500 kPa water tensions. The microsclerotia did not germinate when sand dried at air temperature; however, they germinated at water tension of 0 kPa, although at a lower rate than the germination at the other water tensions studied. The isolated effects of water tension on the microsclerotia germination were important only when the extremes values of this factor were considered.

Polyphasic Characterization of Pigmented Strains of Xanthomonas Pathogenic to Cashew Trees

The export of cashew (Anacardium occidentale) nuts generates millions of dollars for the Brazilian economy annually. However, production may be limited by the occurrence of diseases that affect cashew trees, such as Xanthomonas spot and angular leaf spot, which are caused by pigmented strains of Xanthomonas and Xanthomonas citri pv. anacardii, respectively. Thirty-one pigmented strains of Xanthomonas were characterized for phenotypic, pathogenic, and molecular attributes. These strains were similar to X. citri pv. anacardii in phenotypical characteristics, sensitivity to antibiotics and copper compounds used in agriculture, epidemiology, and repetitive sequence-based polymerase chain reaction (rep-PCR) profiles. When inoculated into Brazilian pepper, cashew, mango, and hog plum seedlings, the pigmented strains of Xanthomonas and X. citri pv. anacardii produced similar symptoms. However, the pigmented strains of Xanthomonas were more aggressive toward cashew plants than toward the other hosts tested, which confirms their specificity. We conclude that pigmented strains of Xanthomonas are very aggressive on cashew trees and should not be considered casual pathogens of these hosts. Moreover, based on our results from rep-PCR and IS1595-PCR amplification, we suggest that these strains constitute a variant of X. citri pv. anacardii.

Caracterização cultural, morfológica e patogênica de Lasiodiplodia theobromae associado a frutíferas tropicais

Lasiodiplodia theobromae is a cosmopolitan, polyphagous and opportunistic fungus with reduced pathogenic specialization, which is capable of infecting plant species in tropical and temperate regions, causing varied symptoms. This study aimed to characterize L. theobromae isolates associated with tropical fruit plants in Northeastern Brazil, considering their cultural, morphological and pathogenic characteristics. The evaluated aspects were mycelial growth, colony coloration, conidium dimension and pathogenicity of the isolates for seedlings of yellow mombin (Spondias mombin L.), cashew (Anacardium occidentale L.), soursop (Annona muricata L.), and Brazil plum (Spondias tuberosa Arruda). Data of morphological and cultural characterization revealed diversity in the pathogen population. High pathogenic variability was also detected, although no pathogenic specificity was found for cashew. Brazil plum showed higher relative resistance to the fungus. The data also demonstrated interaction between morphocultural characteristics and aggressiveness of L. theobromae isolates.

Características morfológicas e fitossanitárias de variedades de roseira na etapa de classificação

The quality of the roses floral stem can be affected by numerous faults as small button or diseases and injuries. This study aimed to evaluate the morphological (length and rightness of stem and rose bud) and fitossanitary (downy mildew, powdery mildew, gray mold and caterpillar damage) characteristics in seven varieties of rose grown in a greenhouse. The characteristics were analyzed three times. The average length of floral stems ranged from 56.1 to 83.3cm, while the average length of buttons ranged from 4.7 to 5.2cm in the varieties evaluated. Symptoms of downy mildew, powdery mildew, gray mold and damage caused by caterpillar were observed, although powdery mildew were the main problem witch affect from 2,9 to 41,3% of floral stems. About 70% of the stems of all varieties showed characteristics of type C or D during the classification stage. These results reinforce the necessity of evaluating new varieties before the implementation of commercial cultivation.

Podridão basal pós-colheita do coco verde no estado do Ceará

A new post-harvest disease of coconut (Cocos nucifera) was recently detected in fruits exported to European countries. The main symptoms are the blacking and cracking of basal parts of the fruits. Water oozing may occurs as the infection progresses. The fungus Lasiodiplodia theobromae has been frequently isolated from the lesions. Inoculation tests proved that this pathogen is the causal agent of the coconut fruit basal rot. This is the first occurrence of this post-harvest disease in Brazil.