In the region of the Upper Valley of Itajaí, Santa Catarina state, Brazil, family farmers cultivate beet (Beta vulgaris) along with other products such as, onion. However, some diseases, including the Beet Leaf Spot (Cercospora beticola), have compromised the success of the beet crop due to severe leaf incidence. The objective of this study was to evaluate the reaction to the Beet Leaf Spot, under local conditions, in the spring-summer season, of the beet cultivars most frequently used by farmers in the region, namely All Green, Stays Green, Early Wonder, Cabernet, Boro, Modana and Itapuã. Two experiments, with a 30-day interval between sowings were carried out in EPAGRI, Experimental Station of Ituporanga. The experimental design was of randomized complete blocks with four replications and 2,25 m² plots. Disease severity was assessed weekly, using a diagrammatic rating scale, in ten plants taken at random and previously labelled. Disease severity data were used to calculate the area under the disease progress curve (AUDPC) for each cultivar. Same plants were used to estimate yield. AUDPC and yield data were submitted to analysis of variance (F-test, 5% probability), and means were studied by the Scott-Knott test (5% probability). There were no significant differences between cultivars, nor for reaction to the disease, neither for yield, in any of the two sowing dates. In both experiments, cultivar All Green scored the highest severity value in the last assessments, 18.46 and 19.84% respectively in the first and second sowing dates, while hybrid Boro (17.79%) in the first experiment, and Stays Green and Cabernet (18.04%) in the second, recorded the lowest values. We concluded that all cultivars were susceptible to the Beet Leaf Spot in spring-summer conditions in the Upper Valley of Itajaí.
Beta vulgaris; Cercospora beticola; cultivars; resistance; disease severity.
