The First Report of the Occurrence of Anthracnose Disease Caused by Colletotrichum gloeosporioides (Penz.) Penz. & Sacc. on Dragon Fruit (Hylocereus spp.) in Peninsular Malaysia

Abstract

Problem statement:The increasing of dragon fruit (Hylocereus spp.) plantations in Malaysia enhances the researches on this crop, particularly focusing on its physico-chemical characteristics, great potential health benefits and nutritional value. However, its scientific report of disease is still lacking, primarily on anthracnose disease. This study was then conducted to investigate the distribution of anthracnose disease on dragon fruit and to correlate its occurrence with weather and cultural data. Approach: Survey and sampling were conducted on dragon fruit-growing areas in Peninsular Malaysia since December 2007 until August 2008 to measure the Disease Incidence (DI) and Disease Severity (DS). The diseased stem and fruit were sampled and brought to laboratory for isolation and identification. DI data were plotted with DS and then correlated using Pearson correlation with weather and cultural data. Results: Of the 43 surveyed-farms in 11 states, DI and DS were successfully recorded on three dragon fruit species from 36 farms (83.72%). The infected stem and fruit had reddish-brown lesions with chlorotic haloes symptoms. The lesion had brown centers and coalesced to rot. Based on its whitish-orange colony, septated hypae and capsule-like conidia and the pathogenicity test, the pathogen was identified as Colletotrichum gloeosporioides. One way ANOVA with DMRT test highlighted that the most disease occurrence was found in Malacca (mean of DI and DS, 57.30 and 21.20%), whereas the lowest in Kelantan state (mean of DI and DS, 6.70 and 4.30%). Pearson coefficient correlations were around 0.107-0.261 for relationships between disease occurrence and age of crops and acreage of farm, from-0.049 to-0.237 for disease prevalence with relative humidity and rainfall and around-0.012-0.173 for disease occurrence with monthly temperature, wind velocity and altitude. Conclusion: The occurrence of anthracnose on dragon fruit in Peninsular Malaysia was more influenced by environmental conditions and agricultural practices rather than climatic factors.

Potential of chitosan-loaded nanoemulsions to control different Colletotrichum spp. and maintain quality of tropical fruits during cold storage

“…This ubiquitous fungal spp. is responsible for anthracnose of different tropical fruits such as banana, papaya and dragon fruits caused by C. musae and C. gloeosporioides, respectively (Ranasinghe et al 2002;Bautista-Baños et al 2003;Masyahit et al 2009). Anthracnose can affect fruits at early stages of development in the field and also damage mature fruits during storage.…”

Higginsianins A and B, Two Diterpenoid α-Pyrones Produced by Colletotrichum higginsianum, with in Vitro Cytostatic Activity

“…Colletotrichum is a fungal genus comprising a large number of endophytic, saprophytic, and plant pathogenic species. It is one of the most economically important plant pathogenic genera that causes anthracnose disease of fruits and leaves in a wide range of hosts, resulting in severe crop reduction and conspicuous postharvest losses of tropical and subtropical cereals, grasses, legumes, vegetables, and tree fruits. − For this reason species belonging to this genus have been the subject of extensive studies involving their pathogenesis, morphology, multigene analysis, physiology, host range, and disease life cycle. However, because of the large size of the genus, the production of secondary metabolites by various species is only partially explored (for a review, see Carcía-Paión and Collado, 2003) .…”

Characterization and Pathogenicity of Colletotrichum truncatum Causing Stem Anthracnose of Red‐Fleshed Dragon Fruit (Hylocereus polyrhizus) in Malaysia

“…Higher temperature and higher humidity generally play important role for infection and anthracnose disease development. Masyahit et al (2009) reported that temperature from 26.5 to 28.1°C and relative humidity from 77.5 to 86.6% favour the infection and disease development of anthracnose of dragon fruit (Hylocereus spp.) in Peninsular Malaysia.…”

“…One of the most severe fungal diseases of H. polyrhizus is anthracnose which can reduce production (Crane and Balerdi 2009;Masyahit et al 2009). During a disease survey of fungal diseases associated with H. polyrhizus, anthracnose symptoms were observed on the stems of H. polyrhizus in the states of Kedah and Penang, Peninsular Malaysia in August 2010 and January 2011, respectively.…”