Identification of Lasiodiplodia spp. Associated With Crown Rot in Banana Tree in the North and Northeast Regions of Brazil.
Botryosphaeriaceae, Multilocus phylogeny, Fungicides, Musa spp.
largest cultivated area and, together with the North, accounts for approximately 47% of national production. Although it is a crop of great socio-economic importance, its productivity has been limited by the occurrence of various phytosanitary problems. Crown rot, one of the main post-harvest diseases of banana fruit, causes significant losses during storage, transportation, and marketing. Infections occur during harvest, but symptoms appear in the post-harvest period, during the physiological ripening of the fruit. Different fungi are associated with this disease, which may vary according to geographical region, especially species of the genus Lasiodiplodia. In this context, this study aims to identify Lasiodiplodia species associated with crown rot in banana-growing areas in the North and Northeast of Brazil. In the first chapter, 114 pathogenic isolates of Lasiodiplodia were obtained from commercial plantations in the states of Piauí, Ceará, Rio Grande do Norte, Paraíba, Pernambuco, Alagoas, Sergipe, Bahia, Acre and Pará. Based on morphological, molecular, and phylogenetic analyses, it was possible to identify six species of Lasiodiplodia associated with crown rot disease: L. hormozganensis, L. laeliocattleyae, L. iraniensis, L. pseudotheobromae, L. brasiliensis and L. theobromae. In the second chapter, the sensitivity profile of the six species identified to fungicides with different active ingredients was evaluated. The efficacy of the fungicides in inhibiting mycelial growth varied between species and according to the active ingredient evaluated. Fipronil + Thiophanate-Methyl + Pyraclostrobin, Thiophanate-Methyl and Chlorothalonil showed the highest inhibition values, followed by Difenoconazole, Pyraclostrobin and Azoxystrobin+Difenoconazole.