Differentiation of Isolates of Glomerella cingulata and Colletotrichum spp. Associated with Glomerella Leaf Spot and Bitter Rot of Apples Using Growth Rate, Response to Temperature, and Benomyl Sensitivity

Cultural characteristics were investigated as a way to distinguish isolates of Glomerella cingulata and Colletotrichum spp. associated with Glomerella leaf spot and bitter rot of apples from those that cause only bitter rot. The growth rate, response to temperature, and benomyl sensitivity of 27 isolates of Glomerella cingulata, 12 isolates of Colletotrichum gloeosporioides, and 7 isolates of C. acutatum, collected from apple orchards located in the U.S. and Brazil and previously characterized based on morphology, vegetative compatibility, and mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) haplotypes, were determined. These isolates represent the genetic and molecular diversity within isolates of C. gloeosporioides, C. acutatum, and G. cingulata from apples found in a previous study. Slower growth, lower optimum growth temperature, and less sensitivity to benomyl distinguished isolates of C. acutatum from isolates of G. cingulata and C. gloeosporioides. However, growth rate and benomyl sensitivity were not useful for distinguishing between G. cingulata and C. gloeosporioides or differentiating isolates of G. cingulata that cause leaf spot and bitter rot from those that only cause bitter rot.