Distribution and severity of mango malformation in the Cerrado Region of Central Brazil.
Anjos J. de R. N. dos, Charchar M. J. d'A.
Author Affiliation: Embrapa Cerrados, BR 020, Km 18, Rod. Brasilia/Fortaleza, Caixa Postal 08223, CEP 73310-970 Planaltina, DF, Brazil.
Documentos - Embrapa Cerrados : 16 pp.
Abstract : The fungus Fusarium sacchari (E. J. Butler & Hafiz Kahn) W. Gams was consistently isolated from infected malformed shoots and panicles of in the Cerrado Region of Central Brazil, from 1998 to 2000. Pathogenicity tests of the F. sacchari isolates were carried out on potted six month-old Tommy Atkins seedlings by introducing a PDA disk with fungal mycelium and conidia in a vertical slit at the tip. F. sacchari is almost completely restricted to shoot tissues in malformed trees. The levels of colonization are highest in malformed vegetative and floral shoots and are much lower in asymptomatic shoots. Treatment of mango malformation with fungicides is ineffective. The only viable control option is the removal and burning of the affected shoot tissue.