The anthurium is a semi-herbaceous plant with green leaves, of heart form and inflorescence with espathe of different colors changing with the cultivar both of ornamental importance. The antracnose caused by Colletotrichum gloeosporioides is one the most important diseases the crop, found in many Brazilian commercial fields. The symptoms develop on the leaves forming dark lesions usually dose to the vein. In the espathe, small dark lesions may occur devaluating the product for selling. This research had the objective of verifying the effect of espathe age, the quantity of inoculation points, as well as the reaction of anthurium cultivars when inoculated with different isolates of C. gloeosporioides (Cg). The age of the espathe influenced the lesion development for both isolates. On espathe estage 1, not completed open, the lesions were significantly different from espathes on 4 and 5 estages. The biggest lesions were achieved with five wound points on the two cultivars (cvs. Tropical and Cananéia) and two isolates tested. The inoculation time did not influence the lesion size. The incubation period (IP) was variable with cultivars and isolate. The smallest IP for Cg 1 isolate were observed on CVA, Astral, Tropical, Netuno and Farao. On Sonate, Astral, Tropical, Netuno and Farao cultivars were observed the smallest IP for Cg 2 isolate. The smallest Area Under the Disease Progress Curve (AUDPC) were observed on Sonate for Cg 1 and on Laguna and Midori for Cg 2.
Anthurium andraeanum; Colletotrichum gloeosporioides; tropical flowers
