Transmission of Colletotrichum truncatum and Macrophomina phaseolina by lima bean seeds

Abstract

ABSTRACT The fungi Colletotrichum truncatum and Macrophomina phaseolina are among the main pathogens associated with lima bean seeds in Brazil, and they are the causal agents of anthracnose and charcoal rot, respectively. The aim of this study was to verify the seed-seedling transmission of C. truncatum and M. phaseolina in artificially inoculated lima bean seeds. Potato-dextrose-agar (PDA) media with different hydric potentials were obtained after the addition of mannitol. Isolates of C. truncatum and M. phaseolina were peaked to these media. Forty grams of seeds were distributed over the fungal mycelium, remaining there for different exposure periods, as a function of each treatment: T1: 0.0 MPa without inoculum for 48 h; T2: 0.0 MPa for 48 h; T3: -0.2 MPa for 48 h; T4: -0.4 MPa for 48 h; T5: -0.6 MPa for 72 h; T6: -0.8 MPa for 96 h and T7: -1.0 MPa for 120 h. The seeds were incubated at 25 ºC under a 12-hour photoperiod. Germination in a paper roll, emergence of seedlings in sand and seed health in PDA were evaluated. T4 provided the best conditions to temporarily prevent seed germination, promoting a greater incidence of seeds infected by C. truncatum and a greater percentage of diseased plants. M. phaseolina reduced seed germination, independently of the inoculated treatment. Both fungi were transmitted from the seeds to the seedlings of lima bean, causing symptoms in various aerial parts. C. truncatum and M. phaseolina transmission rate was 83.1% and 76.46%, respectively.