ABSTRACT
Root rot caused by Fusarium solani f. sp. piperis is one of the major diseases affecting black pepper in the north of Minas Gerais State, Brazil. The aims of this study were to quantify the disease incidence in the main black pepper growing areas of Northern Minas Gerais State, to identify the causal agent of root rot, to test the pathogenicity of isolates and to evaluate the effect of Fusariumsolani f. sp. piperis filtrates on both detached leaves from black pepper and Trichoderma asperellum. The incidence of root rot was randomly evaluated in 1,000 or 500 plants at zigzag. The reaction of black pepper cv. Cingapura was evaluated against two fungal filtrates (FPC1 and FPB2), and the isolate FPB2 was used to evaluate the reaction of cultivars Cingapura and Guajarina. Another experiment was performed to study the influence of FPB2 filtrate dilutions on the leaves of cultivar Cingapura. To evaluate the effect of toxins of the filtrates on the Mycelial Growth Index (MGI) of T. asperellum, a trial was carried out with different concentrations and two filtrates. The disease incidence in the sampled areas was 31.5 to 100% for the municipalities of Bocaiúva and Montes Claros, respectively. Based on the sexual compatibility test, the isolates were identified as F. solani f. sp. piperis. Nine isolates were pathogenic when inoculated in seedlings of black pepper at four-month development. FPB2 filtrate produced the greatest severity (average of 93.6% necrotic leaf area), compared to FPC1 isolate (5.8%). The cultivar Cingapura was more sensitive to the action of the filtrate. The FPB2 filtrate dilution reduced the percentage of diseased leaf area. Furthermore, the increase in the concentrations of FPC1 filtrate contributed to increase the MGI of T. asperellum, whereas FPB2 filtrate showed opposite effect, reducing the MGI of this antagonistic fungus.
Keywords
Antagonistic fungus; black peppe; disease intensity; root rot; toxins
