Phytophthora infestans in a subtropical region: survival on tomato debris, temporal dynamics of airborne sporangia and alternative hosts

Little is known about inoculum dynamics of late blight caused by Phytophthora infestans in tropical/subtropical areas, particularly in Brazil. The objectives of the present study were to assess (i) the survival of the pathogen on stems, leaflets and tomato fruits, either buried or not in soil; (ii) the pathogenicity of P . infestans to mostly solanaceous plant species commonly found in Brazil that could act as inoculum reservoir; and (iii) the temporal dynamics of airborne sporangia. Phytophthora infestans survived in tomato plant parts for less than 36 days under greenhouse and field conditions. In greenhouse tests, pathogen structures were detected earlier on crop debris kept in dry than in wet soil conditions. Isolates of two clonal lineages of P. infestans , US-1 from tomato, and BR-1 from potato, were inoculated on 43 plant species. In addition to potato and tomato, Petunia × hybrida and Nicotiana benthamiana were susceptible to the pathogen. Airborne inoculum was monitored with Rotorod and Burkard spore traps as well as with tomato and potato trap plants. Sporangia were sampled in most weeks throughout 2004 and in the first two weeks of 2005. Under tropical/subtropical conditions, airborne inoculum is abundant and is more important to late blight epidemics than inoculum from crop debris or alternative hosts.

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