Eficiência e custo do controle químico da mancha de alternaria em tangor murcote

A mancha de alternaria, causada por Alternaria alternata f. sp. citri, afeta tangelos Minneola, tangerinas Dancy, tangores Murcote e, menos freqüentemente, tangelos Orlando, tangerinas Novas, Lees e Sunburst. Esta doença causa desfolha grave, queda de frutos e manchas nas frutas. O objetivo deste trabalho foi estabelecer o melhor fungicida e a melhor dose para o controle da mancha marrom de alternaria. O delineamento experimental foi de parcelas subdivididas em blocos, com 10 tratamentos principais e 3 doses (subparcelas), com 5 repetições. Foram feitas 5 aplicações, com intervalo de 15 dias. Os tratamentos foram: azoxystrobin, pyraclostrobin, trifloxystrobin, trifloxystrobin + tebuconazole (2 aplicações) seguido de 3 aplicações de mancozeb, difenoconazole, trifloxystrobin + propiconazole, iprodione, trifloxystrobin + propineb (2 aplicações) seguido de 3 aplicações de oxicloreto de cobre, oxicloreto de cobre + óleo e testemunha. Simultaneamente foram feitas avaliações de incidência e número de lesões por folha. Ao surgimento dos frutos foram avaliadas a incidência em frutos e a produtividade em Kg/ha. Todos os tratamentos foram superiores à testemunha quanto a produtividade. Entre os produtos utilizados o tratamento com trifloxystrobin + propiconazole foi rentável comparando-se custo e produtividade.

Study of Italian isolates of Alternaria spp.: molecular and morphological characterization and pathogenesis on apple tree

It was decided to carry out a morphological and molecular characterization of the Italian Alternaria isolatescollected from apple , and evaluate their pathogenicity and subsequently combining the data collected. The strain collection (174 isolates) was constructed by collecting material (received from extension service personnel) between June and August of 2007, 2008, and 2009. A Preliminary bioassays were performed on detached plant materials (fruit and leaf wounded and unwounded), belonging to the Golden cultivar, with two different kind of inoculation (conidial suspension and conidial filtrate). Symptoms were monitored daily and a value of pathogenicity score (P.S.) was assigned on the basis of the diameter of the necrotic area that developed. On the basis of the bioassays, the number of isolates to undergo further molecular analysis was restricted to a representative set of single spore strains (44 strains). Morphological characteristics of the colony and sporulation pattern were determined according to previous systematic work on small-spored Alternaria spp. (Pryor and Michaelides, 2002 and Hong et al., 2006). Reference strains (Alternaria alternata, Alternaria tenuissima, Alternaria arborescens and four Japanese strains of Alternaria alternata mali pathotype), used in the study were kindly provided by Prof. Barry Pryor, who allows a open access to his own fungal collection. Molecular characterization was performed combining and comparing different data sets obtained from distinct molecular approach: 1) investigation of specific loci and 2) fingerprinting based on diverse randomly selected polymorphic sites of the genome. As concern the single locus analysis, it was chosen to sequence the EndoPG partial gene and three anonymous region (OPA1-3, OPA2- and OPa10-2). These markers has revealed a powerful tool in the latter systematic works on small-spored Alternaria spp. In fact, as reported in literature small-spored Alternaria taxonomy is complicated due to the inability to resolve evolutionary relationships among the taxa because of the lack of variability in the markers commonly used in fungi systematic. The three data set together provided the necessary variation to establish the phylogenetic relationships among the Italian isolates of Alternaria spp. On Italian strains these markers showed a variable number of informative sites (ranging from 7 for EndoPg to 85 for OPA1-3) and the parsimony analysis produced different tree topologies all concordant to define A. arborescens as a mophyletic clade. Fingerprinting analysis (nine ISSR primers and eight AFLP primers combination) led to the same result: a monophyleic A. arborescens clade and one clade containing both A. tenuissima and the A. alternata strains. This first attempt to characterize Italian Alternaria species recovered from apple produced concordant results with what was already described in a similar phylogenetic study on pistachio (Pryor and Michaelides, 2002), on walnut and hazelnut (Hong et al., 2006), apple (Kang et al., 2002) and citurus (Peever et al., 2004). Together with these studies, this research demonstrates that the three morphological groups are widely distributed and occupy similar ecological niches. Furthermore, this research suggest that these Alternaria species exhibit a similar infection pattern despite the taxonomic and pathogenic differences. The molecular characterization of the pathogens is a fundamental step to understanding the disease that is spreading in the apple orchards of the north Italy. At the beginning the causal agent was considered as Alteraria alternata (Marshall and Bertagnoll, 2006). Their preliminary studies purposed a pathogenic system related to the synthesis of toxins. Experimental data of our bioassays suggest an analogous hypothesis, considering that symptoms could be induced after inoculating plant material with solely the filtrate from pathogenic strains. Moreover, positive PCR reactions using AM-toxin gene specific primers, designed for identification of apple infecting Alternaria pathovar, led to a hypothesis that a host specific toxin (toxins) were involved. It remains an intriguing challenge to discover or not if the agent of the “Italian disease” is the same of the one previously typified as Alternaria mali, casual agent of the apple blotch disease.

Sensitisation to Act 2d in patientsallergic to Alternaria alternanta: an epiphenomenom without clinical significance?

In the last few years, the introduction of microarrays in the diagnosis of type I allergy is allowing the clinicians to have a much more accurate picture of their allergenic profile. However, the simultaneous measurement of specific IgE to multiple molecules can show unexpected sensitisations, without knowing their clinical relevance. For instance, we have been observing a high prevalence (74%) of sensitisation to Act d 2 (the thaumatin of kiwifruit) in patients sensitised to Alt a 1 (major allergen of Alternaria alternata) with a confirmed allergy to this mould. The aim of the present study was to clarify if there was any clinical relevance in this finding.

Alt a 1 from Alternaria interacts with PR5 thaumatin-like proteins

Alt a 1 is a protein found in Alternaria alternata spores related to virulence and pathogenicity and considered to be responsible for chronic asthma in children. We found that spores of Alternaria inoculated on the outer surface of kiwifruits did not develop hyphae. Nevertheless, the expression of Alt a 1 gene was upregulated, and the protein was detected in the pulp where it co-localized with kiwi PR5. Pull-down assays demonstrated experimentally that the two proteins interact in such a way that Alt a 1 inhibits the enzymatic activity of PR5. These results are relevant not only for plant defense, but also for human health as patients with chronic asthma could suffer from an allergic reaction when they eat fruit contaminated with Alternaria.

Field evaluation of a plant activator, captan, chlorothalonil, copper hydroxide, iprodione, mancozeb and strobilurins for the control of citrus brown spot of mandarin

Brown spot (caused by Alternaria alternata) is a major disease of citrus in subtropical areas of Australia. A number of chemicals, the strobilurins azoxystrobin, trifloxystrobin, pyraclostrobin and methoxycrylate, a plant activator (acibenzolar), copper hydroxide, mancozeb, captan, iprodione and chlorothalonil/pyrimthanil were tested in the field for its control. Over three seasons, trees in a commercial orchard received 16, 14 and 7 fungicide sprays, respectively, commencing at flowering in the first season, and petal fall in the later seasons. In all experiments, the strobilurins used alone, or incorporated with copper and mancozeb, were as effective as, or better than the industry standard of copper and mancozeb alone. The only exception was trifloxystrobin, which when used alone was less effective than the industry standard. Acibenzolar used alone was ineffective. Applying a mixture of azoxystrobin and acibenzolar was found to reduce the incidence of brown spot compared with applying azoxystrobin alone but, in either case, disease levels were not found to be significantly different to the industry standard. Captan, iprodione and chlorothalonil/pyrimthanil were as effective as the industry standard. The incidence and severity of rind damage were significantly lowest in the azoxystrobin, methoxycrylate, iprodione and chlorothalonil/pyrimthanil treatments. Medium and high rates of trifloxystrobin (0.07 g/L, 0 .15 g/L) and pyraclostrobin (0.8 g/L, 1.2 g/L) applied alone were the only treatments found to be IPM-incompatible as shown by the elevated level of scale infection on fruit.

Damp building moulds: Assessment of sensitization in patients and studies into mechanisms of airway inflammation using experimental models

Exposure to water-damaged buildings and the associated health problems have evoked concern and created confusion during the past 20 years. Individuals exposed to moisture problem buildings report adverse health effects such as non-specific respiratory symptoms. Microbes, especially fungi, growing on the damp material have been considered as potential sources of the health problems encountered in these buildings. Fungi and their airborne fungal spores contain allergens and secondary metabolites which may trigger allergic as well as inflammatory types of responses in the eyes and airways. Although epidemiological studies have revealed an association between damp buildings and health problems, no direct cause-and-effect relationship has been established. Further knowledge is needed about the epidemiology and the mechanisms leading to the symptoms associated with exposure to fungi. Two different approaches have been used in this thesis in order to investigate the diverse health effects associated with exposure to moulds. In the first part, sensitization to moulds was evaluated and potential cross-reactivity studied in patients attending a hospital for suspected allergy. In the second part, one typical mould known to be found in water-damaged buildings and to produce toxic secondary metabolites was used to study the airway responses in an experimental model. Exposure studies were performed on both naive and allergen sensitized mice. The first part of the study showed that mould allergy is rare and highly dependent on the atopic status of the examined individual. The prevalence of sensitization was 2.7% to Cladosporium herbarum and 2.8% to Alternaria alternata in patients, the majority of whom were atopic subjects. Some of the patients sensitized to mould suffered from atopic eczema. Frequently the patients were observed to possess specific serum IgE antibodies to a yeast present in the normal skin flora, Pityrosporum ovale. In some of these patients, the IgE binding was partly found to be due to binding to shared glycoproteins in the mould and yeast allergen extracts. The second part of the study revealed that exposure to Stachybotrys chartarum spores induced an airway inflammation in the lungs of mice. The inflammation was characterized by an influx of inflammatory cells, mainly neutrophils and lymphocytes, into the lungs but with almost no differences in airway responses seen between the satratoxin producing and non-satratoxin producing strain. On the other hand, when mice were exposed to S. chartarum and sensitized/challenged with ovalbumin the extent of the inflammation was markedly enhanced. A synergistic increase in the numbers of inflammatory cells was seen in BAL and severe inflammation was observed in the histological lung sections. In conclusion, the results in this thesis imply that exposure to moulds in water damaged buildings may trigger health effects in susceptible individuals. The symptoms can rarely be explained by IgE mediated allergy to moulds. Other non-allergic mechanisms seem to be involved. Stachybotrys chartarum is one of the moulds potentially responsible for health problems. In this thesis, new reaction models for the airway inflammation induced by S. chartarum have been found using experimental approaches. The immunological status played an important role in the airway inflammation, enhancing the effects of mould exposure. The results imply that sensitized individuals may be more susceptible to exposure to moulds than non-sensitized individuals.

提高生物拮抗菌对果实采后病害的生防效力研究

摘要 　　"随着人们对身体健康和环境污染的日益重视，化学农药作为控制果实采后病害的主要方法受到了很大限制，科学研究者不得不寻求更加安全有效的防治果实采后病害的新方法。生物防治以其对环境和人类健康不造成危害的优点而逐渐受到人们的青睐。然而，由于生物防治是以活菌为基础，有其局限性和时效性，单独使用拮抗菌很难达到化学药剂完全控制果实采后病害的效果，因此，提高拮抗菌的生防效力成为当今生物防治领域的研究重点。本文主要研究了拮抗菌与不同外源物质配合使用的抑病效果及协同抑病机理;拮抗菌对采前田间和采后贮藏环境条件的适应能力;以及采前应用拮抗菌对果实采后贮藏期间病害的生物防治效力。研究结果表明： 　　1、酵母拮抗菌Cryptococcus laurentii与低浓度化学杀菌剂imazalil（25g/ml）和kresoxim-methyl（50g/ml）配合使用可以显著提高对冬枣果实采后黑霉病（Alternaria alternata）和褐腐病（Monilinia fructicola）的防治效果，杀菌剂并不影响拮抗菌在冬枣果实伤口的生长动态。 　　2、酵母拮抗菌Pichia membranefaciens和C. laurentii 与钼酸铵（NH4-Mo，5 mmol/L）和碳酸氢钠（NaHCO3，2%）配合能够显著提高对甜樱桃果实采后褐腐病（M. fructicola）的抑病能力。通过in vitro和扫描电镜观察结果表明，NH4-Mo和NaHCO3能够显著地抑制病原菌M. fructicola在培养基和果实伤口的生长，具有杀菌作用。 　　3、酵母拮抗菌C. laurentii和Rhodotorula glutinis与硅酸钠（Na2SiO3）配合使用对甜樱桃果实采后青霉病（Penicillium expansum）和褐腐病（M. fructicola）以及对冬枣果实青霉病（P. expansum）和黑霉病（A. alternata）的防治效果更好。经in vitro和扫描电镜观察表明，Na2SiO3对病原菌在培养基和果实伤口的生长有明显的抑制作用。同时，Na2SiO3还能诱导果实苯丙氨酸解氨酶（PAL）、多酚氧化酶（PPO）和过氧化物酶（POD）等抗性相关酶活性的提高。 　　4、酵母拮抗菌R. glutinis与水杨酸（SA，0.5mmol/L）配合可显著提高对甜樱桃果实采后青霉病（P. expansum）和黑霉病（A. alternata）的抑病能力。SA不影响拮抗菌在果实伤口的生长，in vitro实验中低浓度的SA对病原菌孢子萌发和芽管伸长也没有抑制作用。SA可能是通过诱导果实产生抗性来协同提高拮抗菌的抑病效果，而不是直接抑制病原菌生长。 　　5、酵母拮抗菌C. laurentii和R. glutinis在气调（Controlled atmospheres, CA）贮藏条件下对樱桃果实采后青霉病（P. expansum）和黑霉病（A. alternata）的防治效果显著提高。气调贮藏不抑制拮抗菌在甜樱桃果实伤口的生长。 　　6、采前应用酵母拮抗菌C. laurentii 和R. glutinis能够显著抑制甜樱桃果实在采后不同贮藏环境下的发病率。拮抗菌能够在田间果实表面生长并一直保持较高的数量。在试验的三种酵母拮抗菌中，C. laurentii的防病效果最好，该菌不仅能在果实表面迅速生长，也能适应低温和CA贮藏环境。"

酵母拮抗菌的抑病机理及生防效力改良的研究

相对于酵母拮抗菌的使用来说，人们对其作用机理了解得还不是很清楚。而了解拮抗菌的抑菌机理却是增强拮抗菌的生防效果以及进行拮抗菌筛选标准的重要前提。本文主要研究了酵母拮抗菌Pichia membranefaciens、Cryptococcus albidus以及Crytococcus laurentii对水果采后软腐病、褐腐病以及青霉病的防治效果，拮抗菌与病原菌之间的相互作用，并对酵母拮抗菌与外源物质配合使用，以及通过遗传改良途径来提高酵母拮抗菌生防能力等进行了初步研究。实验结果如下： 1、酵母拮抗菌P. membranefaciens、C. albidus以及C. laurentii能在果实伤口大量繁殖。采用扫描电镜技术，观察发现在桃果实伤口处P. membranefaciens能紧密地吸附在软腐病菌Rhizopous stolonfier的菌丝体上;C. laurentii与青霉病菌Penicillium expansum在苹果果实伤口处也存在着直接的拮抗作用;但P. membranefaciens和C. albidus对P. expansum的直接作用不明显。 2、酵母拮抗菌P. membranefaciens能够有效地抑制甜樱桃果实在常温和低温贮藏条件下褐腐病的发生。在常温贮藏条件下，P. membranefaciens和褐腐病菌Monilinia fracticola 处理都能够提高果实β-1,3-葡聚糖酶、POD、以及PAL酶的活性，但在低温贮藏条件下，拮抗菌和病原菌处理对甜樱桃果实β-1,3-葡聚糖酶、POD酶活性的升高有促进作用，对PAL和PPO酶活性的诱导作用不明显。 3、梨果实采后经过水杨酸，CaCl2，UV辐射和草酸等各种激发子处理以后，再接种病原菌Alternaria alternata，可以显著降低梨果实的发病率。其中，水杨酸处理的果实发病率最低。不同的激发子均可以诱导梨果实β-1,3-葡聚糖酶、POD、PAL和PPO酶活性的升高，但对果实乙烯含量的影响不明显。 4、氨基糖甙类抗菌素G418能够抑制P. membranefaciens的生长，其最低抑制浓度为100g ml-1。将G418抗性基因Neor插入到酵母-大肠杆菌穿梭表达载体pFL61中，构建PGK启动子驱动的表达载体pFL61-neo，利用醋酸锂转化法转化P. membranefaciens。酵母转化子在非选择性培养条件下连续生长50代后，仍有67.87%的细胞保留该质粒。这表明穿梭表达载体pFL61-neo能稳定地存在于P. membranefaciens中，并且该酵母细胞能有效地识别PGK启动子和终止子指导Neor的表达。 5、酵母拮抗菌C. laurentii和Rhodotorula glutinis与2%的碳酸氢钠混合使用，对冬枣果实青霉病的防治效果明显比单独使用拮抗菌或化学物质的防病效果好。其中，107CFU ml-1的拮抗菌与238 mmol l-1的碳酸氢钠配合使用可以达到单独使用108CFU ml-1拮抗菌的防病效果。另外，钼酸铵作为一种添加剂也能提高R. glutinis对梨果实青霉病和黑霉病的防治效果，但将钼酸铵与Trichosporon sp.配合使用的防病效果不明显。碳酸氢钠和钼酸铵在果实伤口对酵母拮抗菌的生长都有一定的抑制作用。 6、酵母拮抗菌P. membranefaciens在不同碳源、氮源中生长情况表明：在几种氮源中，大豆蛋白胨、酵母提取物、牛肉浸膏对P. membranefaciens的生长有显著的促进作用，其中，大豆蛋白胨的效果最好。在检测以葡萄糖、果糖和麦芽糖作为碳源的生长实验中，发现这几种碳源都能够被拮抗菌很好的利用，其中葡萄糖的利用率最好。小球藻生长因子（CGF）能够明显地促进了P. membranefaciens的生长。但是，CGF的浓度从0.5%增加到1%并没有促进酵母菌细胞数量的增加。

拮抗菌和化学物质的抑病机理及果实抗病相关基因的克隆

真菌病害是造成采后新鲜水果损失的一个主要原因。生物拮抗菌能有效地防治果实采后腐烂，降低杀菌剂的用量，从而增加了食品安全性和降低了潜在的环境危害。然而，与化学杀菌剂相比，单独使用生物拮抗菌对果实采后病害的控制效果有时不如化学杀菌剂明显。因此，为了提高拮抗菌的生防效力，有效控制果实的采后病害，本文主要研究了拮抗菌与化学物质使用的防病机理，并从冬枣果实中克隆β-1，3-葡聚糖酶基因并对其特性进行了初步分析。研究结果表明： 1. 酵母菌Cryptococcus laurentii和枯草芽孢杆菌Bacillus subtilis能够有效的防治冬枣果实采后青霉病和黑霉病的发生，而且C. laurentii对病害的防治效果比B. subtilis好。拮抗菌的抑病效果与使用浓度成正比。在接种C. laurentii的伤口上再接种病原菌可以显著刺激酵母菌的生长。然而，在接种B. subtilis的伤口上接种病原菌则不增加拮抗细菌的群体数量。 2. 不同酵母拮抗菌对四种杀菌剂（Deccozil，Sportak，Iprodine和Stroby）的敏感程度不同。其中，R. glutinis对Deccozil，Iprodione和Stroby最敏感。将低剂量的杀菌剂与酵母菌配合能显著增强酵母菌对采后病菌的抑制作用。C. laurentii与100 µl/L的Stroby配合能完全抑制青霉和黑霉病菌的孢子萌发。2%（w/v）的碳酸氢钠（SBC）与C. laurentii或T. pullulans配合使用显著抑制采后病菌(Penicillium expansum或Alternaria alternata)的孢子萌发和芽管伸长。SBC显著增强拮抗菌对梨果实采后青霉病和黑霉病的防治能力。C. laurentii对采后病害的防治效果好于T. pullulans的防治效果。 3. C. laurentii和B. subtilis对冬枣果实抗病性的诱导与接种距离和接种时间密切相关。距接种拮抗菌近的部位，抗性诱导就越强。酵母菌诱导果实的这种抗病性与诱导果实几丁质酶，β-1，3-葡聚糖酶， PAL，POD和PPO活性有关。 4. 采前喷施2 mM的水杨酸（SA）和0.2 mM的茉莉酸甲酯（MeJA）显著降低甜樱桃果实采后褐腐病的病斑直径， 并能诱导甜樱桃果实β-1，3-葡聚糖酶， PAL， POD和PPO活性以及乙烯含量的增加。采前处理对果实抗病性的诱导效果要好于采后处理。采前和采后SA或MeJA处理，贮藏于25C的甜樱桃果实β-1，3-葡聚糖酶和PAL活性显著高于贮藏于0C的甜樱桃果实的酶活性。2 mM的SA显著抑制了Monilinia fructicola的孢子萌发和菌丝扩展;而0.2 mM的MeJA则对M. fructicola几乎没有抑制作用。在贮藏早期，MeJA对果实β-1，3-葡聚糖酶和PAL活性的诱导作用要强于SA的诱导作用。 5. 1 × 108CFU/ml的C. laurentii，以及5 × 107CFU/ml的C. laurentii与0.2 mM的MeJA 配合使用均可诱导桃果实的抗性，并显著降低果实青霉病和褐腐病的病斑直径。0.2 mM的MeJA能促进C. laurentii生长，抑制P. expansum的菌丝扩展， 但对M. fructicola基本没有抑制作用。在25和0C，MeJA和C. laurentii单独或配合使用都诱导了桃果实几丁质酶，β-1，3-葡聚糖酶，PAL和POD活性的升高。这些抗病相关酶活性的升高可能与病斑扩展的程度是直接相关的。 6. 通过设计简并引物，采用降落PCR，扩增出β-1，3-葡聚糖酶基因的同源片段，分别克隆到两个彼此间同源性很低的β-1，3-葡聚糖酶的cDNA全长（Glu-1和Glu-2）。RT-PCR结果表明，Glu-1基因的表达受酵母拮抗菌C. laurentii处理所诱导，这一结果与酵母拮抗菌诱导果实β-1，3-葡聚糖酶活性的增加相呼应;而Glu-2基因的表达则不受C. laurentii处理所诱导。

An in vitro investigation of endocrine disrupting effects of the mycotoxin alternariol

Alternariol (AOH) is a mycotoxin commonly produced by Alternaria alternata on a wide range of foods. Few studies to date have been performed to evaluate the effects of AOH on endocrine activity. The present study makes use of in vitro mammalian cellular based assays and gene expression to investigate the ability of AOH to act as an endocrine disruptor by various modes of action. Reporter gene assays (RGAs), incorporating natural steroid hormone receptors for oestrogens, androgens, progestagens and glucocorticoids were used to identify endocrine disruption at the level of nuclear receptor transcriptional activity, and the H295R steroidogenesis assay was used to assess endocrine disruption at the level of gene expression and steroid hormone production. AOH exhibited a weak oestrogenic response when tested in the oestrogen responsive RGA and binding of progesterone to the progestagen receptor was shown to be synergistically increased in the presence of AOH. H295R cells when exposed to 0.1-1000ng/ml AOH, did not cause a significant change in testosterone and cortisol hormones but exposure to 1000ng/ml (3.87µM) AOH resulted in a significant increase in estradiol and progesterone production. In the gene expression study following exposure to 1000ng/ml (3.87µM) AOH, only one gene NR0B1 was down-regulated, whereas expression of mRNA for CYP1A1, MC2R, HSD3B2, CYP17, CYP21, CYP11B2 and CYP19 was up-regulated. Expression of the other genes investigated did not change significantly. In conclusion AOH is a weak oestrogenic mycotoxin that also has the ability to interfere with the steroidogenesis pathway.

Identificação de híbridos de citros resistentes à mancha-marrom-de-alternária por meio de fAFLP e testes de patogenicidade

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Fungos causadores de podridões pós-colheita em uvas apirênicas no pólo agrícola de Juazeiro - BA e Petrolina - PE

In Brazil, postharvest diseases caused by pathogenic microorganisms are a major problem that causes damage to around 80% of the total fruit production. In the lower middle Sao Francisco river valley numerous studies on identification and control of fungal diseases during postharvest of grapes are needed, in order to minimize losses in this step. In this context, bunches of seedless varieties 'Crimson', 'Sonaka'; 'Superior' and 'Thompson' were collected from July to November 2009, in order to identify and quantify the incidence of pathogenic fungi. The grapes were collected on five farms which specialize in the production of table grapes for export, all located in Juazeiro - BA and Petrolina - PE. During this period, 10 samples were taken. In the fruit farm five plants were used for sampling, and removal of two bunches of grapes per plant, totaling 10 bunches per variety. Subsequently, they were sent to the laboratory of Plant Pathology at UNEB/DTCS where they were placed separately in a moist chamber for 48 hours at an average temperature of 23 degrees C. After this period, isolations of berries and stems in Petri plates containing PDA - potato-dextrose-agar were carried out with 10 repetitions, which were placed on benches under laboratory conditions. From the 8th day on, the presence of Aspergillus niger, Alternaria alternata, Cladosporium herbarum, Lasiodiploidia theobromae was observed, which presented the highest incidence, as well as Rhizopus stolonifer, Penicillium expansum.

Efficacy of pre- and postinoculation application of Fungicides to expanding young citrus leaves for control of melanose, scab, and alternarial brown spot

In greenhouse trials, copper hydroxide, pyraclostrobin, and famoxadone were applied to actively crowing young citrus seedlings to determine the duration of protection of young leaves provided by these fungicides against melanose, caused by Diaporthe citri, citrus scab, caused by Elsinoe fawcettii, and Alternaria brown spot, caused by Alternaria alternata. Fungicides were applied to different sets of potted plants of grapefruit for control of melanose, of rough lemon for control of scab, and of Dancy tangerine for control of Afternaria brown spot 1 to 6 days prior to inoculation. as well as on the day of inoculation. Leaf area of treated shoots was estimated on the day of fungicide application and the day of inoculation and disease severity evaluated subsequently. In most cases. copper hydroxide and famoxadone provided at least 50% control of all three diseases for only about 2 days after application. Generally, there was little or no disease control when the products were applied 4 or more days before inoculation. In contrast, pyraclostrobin usually provided a high level of control of all three diseases when applied up to 5 days prior to inoculation. The level of disease control decreased as the interval between a fungicide application and inoculation increased and the relationship between disease control and leaf expansion best fit a quadratic equation. Effective disease control was observed with copper hydroxide and famoxadone until leaf area had increased by 100 to 200%, whereas control with pyraclostrobin was observed up to 400 to 500% increase in leaf area. In postinoculation tests with scab and melanose, pyraclostrobin provided high levels of disease control (>75%) when applied up to 2 days after inoculation. whereas copper hydroxide and famoxadone had minimal postinoculation activity. Applications of pyraclostrobin to the spring flush growth of citrus trees are much more likely to provide control of melanose, scab, and Alternaria brown spot than those of famoxadone or copper hydroxide.

Efeito de atmosfera modificada no controle de podridões pós-colheita e na qualidade de caqui cv. Fuyu

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Regeneration and characterization of somatic hybrids combining sweet orange and mandarin/mandarin hybrid cultivars for citrus scion improvement

Protoplast fusion between sweet orange and mandarin/mandarin hybrids scion cultivars was performed following the model "diploid embryogenic callus protoplast + diploid mesophyll-derived protoplast". Protoplasts were isolated from embryogenic calli of 'Pera' and 'Westin' sweet orange cultivars (Citrus sinensis) and from young leaves of 'Fremont', Nules', and 'Thomas' mandarins (C. reticulata), and 'Nova' tangelo [C. reticulata x (C. paradisi x C. reticulata)]. The regenerated plants were characterized based on their leaf morphology (thickness), ploidy level, and simple sequence repeat (SSR) molecular markers. Plants were successfully generated only when 'Pera' sweet orange was used as the embryogenic parent. Fifteen plants were regenerated being 7 tetraploid and 8 diploid. Based on SSR molecular markers analyses all 7 tetraploid regenerated plants revealed to be allotetraploids (somatic hybrids), including 2 from the combination of 'Pera' sweet orange + 'Fremont' mandarin, 3 'Pera' sweet orange + 'Nules' mandarin, and 2 'Pera' sweet orange + 'Nova' tangelo, and all the diploid regenerated plants showed the 'Pera' sweet orange marker profile. Somatic hybrids were inoculated with Alternaria alternata and no disease symptoms were detected 96 h post-inoculation. This hybrid material has the potential to be used as a tetraploid parent in interploid crosses for citrus scion breeding.