Colletotrichum species are present in all organs of coffee trees and the importance of them is still controversial, since several populations can infect plant and cause disease or colonize plants in an endophytic form. This study was carried out with the objective to verify the presence of Colletotrichum spp. in different stages of development of coffee fruits and in the exocarp plus mesocarp, endocarp and endosperm of ripe fruits. In Fruits from the cultivars Catuaí Amarelo and Vermelho, Icatu, Topázio, Katipó, Rubi, Acaiá Cerrado and Mundo Novo came from the experimental farm the of Federal University of Lavras, Brazil. In the developing young fruits Colletotrichum spp. occurred at the average incidence of 86.6%. The highest incidence, 94.4% was observed in fruits from Topázio and Rubi cultivars, and the lowest incidences were 72.8% and 78.4%, in fruits from Icatu and Mundo Novo cultivars, respectively. Incidence of Colletotrichum spp. in the tissues of coffee berries varied according to the cultivar and the type of infected tissue. Based on exocarp plus mesocarp infection, the cultivars Topázio, Rubi, Acaiá Cerrado and Icatu were colonized with 84.72%, 79.16%, 77.77% and 48.6%, respectively. In relation to endocarp the maximum colonization was of 9.72% in cultivar Rubi and lower percentage of colonization was observed in Acaiá Cerrado with 1.39%. In relation to endosperm, the maximum colonization was observed in Rubi cultivar with 8.33% and lower percentage of colonization was observed in Mundo Novo and Katipó cultivars, both with 1.39%. Colletotrichum spp. was present in the seeds of all cultivars studied.
Colletotrichum gloeosporioides; coffee trees; colonization; berries
