Avaliação da temperatura sobre o comportamento de Mycosphaerella musicola

Abstract

The yellow Sigatoka, caused by Mycosphaerella musicola, is among the problems affecting banana production worldwide. Temperature and humidity determine the severity of Sigatoka. Temperature can directly affect the cycle of the pathogen and may increase or decrease the incubation period, which will affect the number of cycles of the pathogen during a crop cycle. The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of different temperatures on the sporulation and on the severity of yellow Sigatoka. The experiments were performed in two stages, first in laboratory and the second in a greenhouse. Two isolates, one from Bahia State (BA) and the other from Rio Grande do Norte State (RN) were tested for sporulation at 15, 20, 25 and 30 °C. Spores produced in these temperatures were used to inoculate banana plantlets variety Prata Anã that were kept in a greenhouse. The results revealed that isolate BA produced more spores at 25 °C while isolate RN sporulated more at 15 °C. The severity of disease was lower in the isolate from RN than that isolate from BA. These data showed that the temperature in which the spores are produced influence disease severity under ambient conditions.