Open AccessConidial Germination and Appressorium Formation ofColletotrichum coccodeson Tomato Foliage
Author(s) -
J. M. Byrne,
M. K. Hausbeck,
Raymond Hammerschmidt
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
plant disease
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.663
H-Index - 108
eISSN - 1943-7692
pISSN - 0191-2917
DOI - 10.1094/pdis.1997.81.7.715
Subject(s) - appressorium , conidium , biology , germination , inoculation , lycopersicon , horticulture , botany
Conidial germination and infection processes of Colletotrichum coccodes were quantified on foliage of processing tomatoes (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.). The abaxial surface of two opposing terminal leaflets removed from a fully expanded leaf at the 4th to 5th node was inoculated with 10-μl droplets of C. coccodes conidial suspension. Leaflets were incubated for 2 to 24 h in 2-h intervals at 25°C under high relative humidity. Explants with the conidial droplet were fixed, cleared, and preserved for microscopic observation. The percentage of germinated conidia and those with unmelanized and melanized appressoria was determined for each leaf disk. Conidial germination increased linearly with time (R 2 = 0.73) (P = 0.001), maximizing (68.3%) 24 h after inoculation. The percentage of germinated conidia with unmelanized appres-soria peaked 6 h after inoculation (38.3%). Melanized appressoria formation followed a linear trend (R 2 = 0.74) (P = 0.001), maximizing (62.0%) 24 h after inoculation. Infection vesicles were produced in 2.7% of conidia by 22 h, indicating successful infection.