Abstract
Bacterial spot, caused by Xanthomonas spp., is one of the major bacterial diseases in pepper (Capsicum annuum L.). The infection results in reduced crop yield, particularly during periods of high rainfall and temperature, due to the low efficiency of chemical control with copper bactericides. This study evaluated the copper and zinc sulfate sensitivity of 59 pathogenic strains of Xanthomonas euvesicatoria isolated from pepper plants produced in various regions throughout Brazil. Both the respective sulfates and a mixture thereof was evaluated at 50, 100, 200 and 400 μg.mL-1. All the evaluated strains were found to be resistant to zinc sulfate (100 μg.mL-1) and 86.4% were resistant to copper sulfate (200 μg.mL-1). The mixture of copper (200 μg.mL-1) and zinc (200 μg.mL-1) sulfates inhibited the growth of all strains of X. euvesicatoria. To our knowledge this is the first study to report the resistance of X. euvesicatoria strains from pepper plants to copper and zinc sulfates in Brazil.
Highlights
Pepper plants (Capsicum annuum L.) are cultivated around the world and contain compounds that add flavor and aroma to foods, in addition to being a valuable source of vitamins (Fontes 2005)
This study aimed to evaluate the in vitro sensitivity of 59 X. euvesicatoria strains obtained from peppers produced throughout several regions of Brazil, to copper sulfate, zinc sulfate and mixtures thereof
At 400 μg.mL-1, the growth of 35.6 and 42.4% of the X. euvesicatoria strains was inhibited for copper and zinc sulfate, respectively
Summary
Pepper plants (Capsicum annuum L.) are cultivated around the world and contain compounds that add flavor and aroma to foods, in addition to being a valuable source of vitamins (Fontes 2005). Bacterial spot disease, caused by Xanthomonas euvesicatoria, X. vesicatoria, X. perforans and X. gardneri, is detrimental to pepper and tomato crops in several regions of the world, during seasons of high rainfall and temperature (QuezadoDurval and Lopes 2010, Osdaghi et al 2016, Potnis et al 2015). X. euvesicatoria (Areas et al 2015) and X. perforans (Araújo et al 2017) are the major etiological agents causing bacterial spot in pepper and tomato crops, respectively, in Brazil. The efficiency of chemical control varies with the region, season and the intensity and frequency of spraying (Carmo et al 2001). In Brazil, copper hydroxide and copper sulfate are currently registered for use as chemical agents to control bacterial spot in pepper crops (Agrofit 2016)
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