Espécies de Neopestalotiopsis associadas a Mancha Marrom da Palma Miúda

Abstract

Forage palm (Nopalea cochenillifera and Opuntia ficus-indica) is a crop of great relevance for animal production in many countries. In Brazil, the Northeast region is the largest producer, due to the climatic conditions that confer excellent adaptability to the crop. Despite the productive potential of forage palm, diseases such as brown spot can compromise its productivity and cause great damage to producers. Brown spot is the most important disease of the small palm in northeastern Brazil and many etiological agents of fungal origin have been reported causing this disease and among these, Neopestalotiopsis spp. Thus, the objective of this study was to identify and characterize neopestalotiopsis species that cause brown spot of the small palm in the states of Alagoas and Pernambuco. Clades presenting symptoms of Brown spots on their surface were collected in municipalities in the state of Alagoas and Pernambuco. In the laboratory, isolation, monosporic cultures and pathogenicity test were performed. Subsequently, the isolates previously identified as belonging to the genus Neopestalotiopsis were identified based on molecular analyses of specific genomic regions (ITS, EF1-α, TUB2) for the genus Neospestalotiopsis. Morphological characterization was performed based on reproductive structures. Three pathogenic isolates were obtained. Based on phylogenetic and morphological analyses, the present study identified two species of Neopestalotiopsis: N. surinamensis and N. saprophyta associated with brown spot of the small palm.

Keywords: Nopalea cochenillifera; Diseases of the palm; Pestalotioid Complex