Diversity of fungi associated with root rot in cassava roots in Western Pará
Etiology, Identification. Diversity.
Cassava (Manihot esculenta) is the fifth most important crop in the world, being of great importance in food and is highlighted in its fundamental socioeconomic role for family farming in the Amazon region. In western Pará, the root rot of cassava has been limiting production in communities in different municipalities, believed to be caused predominantly by Fusarium solani. Thus, the aim of this study was to characterize the fungi that cause cassava root rot in western Pará. Cassava Roots rot were collected in the municipalities of Alenquer, Belterra, Juruti, Mojuí dos Campos, Óbidos and Santarém; and taken to the Interaction Genetics Laboratory (LGI) for isolation and morphological characterization. Morphological identification was carried out through reproductive structures and consultation in specialized literature. The symptoms observed were soft rot with and without smell, from which several phytopathogenic fungi of the genus Fusarium, Lasiodiplodia, Scytalidium / Neoscytalidium, Phytophthora and Phytopythium were isolated. Its identification needs to be carried out at the molecular level to confirm the species. This work was the first survey carried out in the western region of Pará, obtaining different fungal species in the municipalities, with simultaneous occurrence of up to four species in the same area, and occurring in all municipalities of F. solani.