Abstract
The production of cocoa (Theobroma cacao L.) in Colombia has a significant environmental and socioeconomic importance as a promissory crop in the post-conflict process. The department of Norte de Santander has cocoa crops that are dramatically affected by fungal pathogens causing important losses during harvest and post-harvest. Therefore, the current study focused on the determination of the incidence of diseases caused by phytopathogenic fungi in cocoa crops, and the identification of primary phytopathogenic fungi found in biological material from different farms of the region. The study was conducted in four municipalities of the department, by sampling fruits infected with frosty pod rot (FPR) and black pod rot (BPR) that presented in situ incidence ranging from 0.37 to 21.58% and from 1.75 to 35.59%, respectively. The studied hybrid materials, together with clone TSH 65, were found to be the most susceptible, while the remaining clones were more tolerant, especially CCN 51, IMC 67, and ICS95. Fifteen strains were isolated using in vitro assays and then morphologically characterized both in solid media and by microscopy. Nine of them corresponded to the pathogen Moniliophthora roreri, and other six to Phytophthora palmivora. The isolated agents showed in vitro morphological variability, as well as the ability to adapt to different environments when growing in situ.
Highlights
Pathogenic fungi are a significant threat to global food security that generate losses in plant production equivalent to 200 billion dollars per year estimated in losses of more than 30% of the harvest; without the use of the actual crop protection methods, its impact would increase [1,2].Cocoa (Theobroma cacao L.) trees house a diverse pathogenic community [3], so controlling methods for cocoa pathogens are required
Considering that the majority of biological materials planted in the Norte de Santander region are susceptible to fungal pathogenic agents, the main objective of this study was to establish the present in situ incidence of Frosty pod rot (FPR) and black pod rot (BPR), and to isolate and characterize their causal agents in vitro, evaluating different biological materials planted in four farms of Norte de Santander, contributing to the current knowledge of the agro-ecology of this crop to develop better cocoa pathogen control strategies
The highest plants, which facilitates pathogen attack. This observed in Bochalema incidence of phytopathogenic diseases was alsowas observed in that locality. soil samples, so the highest incidence of phytopathogenic diseases was observed in that locality
Summary
Pathogenic fungi are a significant threat to global food security that generate losses in plant production equivalent to 200 billion dollars per year estimated in losses of more than 30% of the harvest; without the use of the actual crop protection methods, its impact would increase [1,2].Cocoa (Theobroma cacao L.) trees house a diverse pathogenic community [3], so controlling methods for cocoa pathogens are required. The phenomena of El niño and La niña produce considerable alternation between dry and rainy periods, intervening in the productive and vegetative cycles of the cocoa trees [4] and promoting fungal pathogens infection [5]. & Par.) Evans (1986), is one of the most severe diseases affecting cocoa in Colombia and in some Central and South American countries. It takes about 74 days for the symptomatology to start, with shiny humps or swellings until a white fungus structure formation covers the pod and spreads to contaminate others pods [7]
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