Sexual Compatibility, Morphology, Physiology, Pathogenicity and in vitro Sensitivity to Fungicides of Thielaviopsis paradoxa Infecting Sugarcane and Pineapple in Puerto Rico

Abstract

A previously unreported race of Thielaviopsis paradoxa was isolated from pineapple fruits with symptoms of black rot disease. Macro- and microconidia resemble in appearance those of T. paradoxa, the causal agent of the pineapple disease of sugarcane. Perithecia were produced in PDA (24°-28° C.) when the pineapple isolate was crossed with the light strain of T. paradoxa from sugarcane. Perithecia are characteristic of Ceratocystis paradoxa (horn-like appendages on the base of the perithecia and long, pointed ostiolar hyphae) and are morphologically indistinguishable from those obtained by crossing two sexually compatible strains from sugarcane. However, the rate of growth of the pineapple isolate, under various temperatures, pHs, and cultural media, was consistently different from those characterizing other strains of the fungus. The pineapple strain attacks sugarcane seedpieces more virulently than isolates obtained from sugarcane. In vitro tests were conducted in the laboratory to determine the relative toxicity of the fungicides benzoic acid, Dowicide A, Benlate, Tecto 60 (TBZ), and Dithane M-45 on pineapple and sugarcane isolates of the fungus. Benzoic acid and Dowicide A appeared to be the most effective of these fungicides for inhibiting mycelial growth of T. paradoxa