Abstract
ABSTRACT Among the factors negatively impacting guava (Psidium guajava) crop in Brazil, one of the most important is the root-knot nematode, Meloidogyne enterolobii, which may cause considerable yield losses and even the cessation of guava cultivation in some areas. In addition to affecting guava, the pathogen has been reported as a parasite in various other crops, among them both oleraceous and ornamental crops, as well as in spontaneous vegetation. The aim of this study was to verify the occurrence of M. enterolobii in plants collected in guava orchards in different counties of Ceará state, identified through electrophoresis with the isoenzyme esterase, and to observe its infecting behavior into Meloidogyne differentiating plants. Fifty root samples from guava, tasselflower (Emilia fosbergii), and jurubeba (Solanum paniculatum), were collected in 13 counties from eight micro-regions in the state of Ceará. In all analyzed samples, only esterase phenotype M2 (Rm: 0.6; 0.9), characteristic of M. enterolobii, was detected, showing that the nematode is widespread in orchards throughout the state, where is affecting these fruit tree, and that it is also able to parasitizing plants of the spontaneous vegetation. Based on the results, this nematode currently constitutes a serious threat to guava plantations in Ceará, and effective control mechanisms are crucial to prevent the spread of this pathogen to other, still unaffected, areas.
Highlights
Guava (Psidium guajava L.), a species of the Myrtaceae family, is widely grown in almost all tropical and subtropical regions of the world and well adapted to different environmental conditions (GONZAGA-NETO et al, 2001)
Meloidogyne enterolobii was the only species found in guava trees grown in 13 municipalities in Ceará
The esterase profile was typical of M. enterolobii (M2), with two very obvious main bands (Rm: 0.6, 0.9) and two faint secondary bands (Figure 2), as described in Carneiro et al (2000)
Summary
Guava (Psidium guajava L.), a species of the Myrtaceae family, is widely grown in almost all tropical and subtropical regions of the world and well adapted to different environmental conditions (GONZAGA-NETO et al, 2001). According to the Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatisitica (IBGE), in 2014, the area cultivated with guava in Brazil was 15,831 hectares, with a production of 359,349 tons, and the harvested area of guava in Ceará was 1,515 ha, with a production of 18,936 tons, including harvests from irrigated areas in the regions of Baixo Jaguaribe, Acaraú, and Cariri and conventional crops in several municipalities (ADECE, 2013; IBGE, 2014). Several genera and species of nematodes such as Meloidogyne (M. incognita (Kofoid and White) Chitwood, M. javanica (Treub) Chitwood, M. arenaria (Neal) Chitwood, M. hapla Chitwood) and Radopholus sp., Rotylenchulus reniformis Linford and Oliveira, Helicotylenchus nannus Steiner, and Aphelenchus avenae Bastian, are reported in association with guava plants (MOREIRA; SHARMA, 2001). In Brazil, M. enterolobii Yang and Eisenback was the most frequent species affecting guava crops, threatening the countrys guava industry (CHARCHAR et al, 2009). The first report in Brazil in 2001 was to the cities of Petrolina, Curaçá, and Maniçoba-BA, with severe damage to commercial guava plantations caused by M. mayaguensis Rammah and Hirschmann, 1988 (CARNEIRO et al, 2001)
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