Chenopodium quinoa, a New Host for Alternaria Section Alternata and Alternaria Section Infectoriae Causing Yellow Leaf Blotch Disease.

Abstract

Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) is a native American crop mainly grown in the Andes of Bolivia and Peru. During the last decades, the cultivation of quinoa has expanded to more than 125 countries. Since then, several diseases of quinoa have been characterized. A leaf disease was observed on quinoa plants growing in an experimental plot in Eastern Denmark in 2018. The symptoms produced by the associated fungi consisted of small yellow blotches on the upper surface of leaves with a pale chlorotic halo surrounding the lesion. These studies used a combination of morphology, molecular diagnostics, and pathogenicity tests to identify two different Alternaria species belonging to Alternaria sections Infectoriae and Alternata as the causal agent of observed disease symptoms. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of Alternaria spp. as foliar pathogens of quinoa. Our findings indicate the need for additional studies to determine potential risks to quinoa production.