Identificação de espécies de botryosphaeriaceae e de neopestalotiopsis associadas a doenças foliares do coqueiro

Abstract

Coconut cultivation (Cocos nucifera L.) is carried out in several countries. In Brazil, the culture is widely cultivated, being considered a fruit of great economic importance. In recent years it has ceased to be produced only in coastal areas and has been expanding to more central regions of the c ountry. With the increase in production, there was favoring the spread of fungal diseases, especially foliar diseases, responsible for the reduction of production potential. Leaf burning is considered the most important foliar disease in coconut. The disea se is associated with species of Lasiodiplodia spp., However, it is necessary to review if the genus Lasiodiplodia is the only member of the family Botryosphaeriaceae to cause burning of the leaves of the coconut. Another important leaf disease is the spot of coconut palm pestalotia. This disease has as etiological agent, fungi belonging to the Pestalotioid complex, which are widely distributed in nature. However, there is little information on the actual identification of these pathogens. Therefore, it is important to search for information on these foliar pathogens, making it necessary to accurately identify the species associated with these diseases. The objective of this work was to identify phylogenetically and morphologically Botryosphaeriaceae species associated with the burning of coconut palm leaves in the northeast of Brazil and to identify and characterize species of the Pestalotioid complex associated to the spot of pestalotia in the coconut palm crop. In the first chapter, 28 pathogenic isolates of Botryosphaeriaceae were obtained from commercial plantations in the States of Alagoas and Sergipe. Morphological and molecular analyzes allowed the identification of two species belonging to two distinct genera of Botryosphaeriaceae associated to the bu rning of the coconut leaves, L. theobromae and Neodeightonia alagoensis sp. nov. In the second chapter 10 pathogenic isolates were obtained from lesions typical of coconut pestalotia spot. According to the morphological and molecular analyzes, three specie s belonging to the genus Neopestalotipsis were identified: N. foedans , N. ellipsospora and Neopestalotiopsis sp. associated with coconut pestalotia spot in Brazil.