A Detached Leaf Technique for Studying Race-specific Resistance to Cladosporium caryigenum in Pecan

Abstract

A detached leaf screening technique was developed for studying specific interactions between pecan [Carya illinoinensis (Wangenh.) C. Koch] cultivars and isolates of the pecan scab fungus, Cladosporium caryigenum. Monoconidial isolates were obtained from leaf scab lesions on `Wichita', `Desirable', `Cape Fear', and `Elliot'. Each isolate was then inoculated onto detached leaves of each of the four cultivars and fungal growth was observed under the microscope after eight days. `Wichita', `Desirable', and `Cape Fear' isolates produced subcuticular hyphae at a much higher frequency when inoculated back onto the cultivar from which they were isolated in comparison to the other cultivars. The `Elliot' isolate was able to produce a high frequency of subcuticular hyphae when inoculated onto `Elliot' and `Cape Fear', but not when inoculated onto `Desirable' and `Wichita'. Field inoculations conducted with the `Wichita' and `Desirable' isolates validated the detached leaf protocol. The results obtained indicate that pecan scab is composed of multiple races with a high degree of specificity for host cultivars. A rapid whole-leaf staining system is presented which appears to have wide applicability to assessing fungal growth in leaves.