Eucalyptus rust caused by Puccinia psidii Winter, is one of the most important diseases of Eucalyptus. The pathogen causes disease mainly in leaves, stems and young shoots, under conditions of leaf wetness up to 6 hours for 5 to 7 consecutive days and temperatures from 18 to 25 º C, with optimum 23 º C. Considering the influence of climatic conditions in the life cycle of the pathogen, the planting of eucalyptus in times and places unfavorable to the occurrence and development of the pathogen is one of the possible strategies for integrated disease management. This study aimed to map risk areas for the occurrence of eucalyptus rust in the Espírito Santo and southern Bahia. Therefore, was calculated the rate of infection (II) from the average daily maximum temperature (T) and duration of leaf wetness (H) as the model II = -32.263 + 3.699 T + 0.461 H - TH 0.0018 - 0.0903 T2 - 0.0068 H2. The data used were obtained from the meteorological database, of the Região Aracruz and São Mateus (Espírito Santo) and Região Teixeira de Freitas (Bahia) for the years 2001 to 2006, a total of 26 weather stations. From the rate of infection was carried out to calculate a correction factor, defined as the ratio between the value 100 and the highest interpolated value of infection rate, to classify the values within a range from 0 to 100 points risk, generating the risk index. Based on the value of risk index, drawn up maps of spatial and temporal distribution of disease occurrence, using the software ArcGIS 9.2 TM. According to the results it is concluded that the months from May to November are the most favorable for the occurrence of the disease. The adopted methodology was efficient for the mapping of the risk of eucalyptus rust, considering the spatial and temporal distribution.
Eucalyptus; Puccinia psidii; risk areas; integrated management
