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Inoculum Availability and Conidial Dispersal Patterns of Fusarium mangiferae, the Causal Agent of Mango Malformation Disease

First and second authors: Department of Plant Pathology and Microbiology, Faculty of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Quality Sciences; The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, P.O. Box 12, Rehovot, 76100; first, third, fourth, and fifth authors: Department of Plant Pathology and Weed Research, Agricultural Research Organization (ARO), the Volcani Center; P.O. Box 6, Bet Dagan, 50250, Israel.

Inoculum availability and conidial dispersal patterns of Fusarium mangiferae, causal agent of mango malformation disease, were studied during 2006 and 2007 in an experimental orchard. The spatial pattern of primary infections in a heavily infected commercial mango orchard corresponded with a typical dispersal pattern caused by airborne propagules. Malformed inflorescences were first observed in mid-March, gradually increased, reaching a peak in May, and declined to negligible levels in August. The sporulation capacity of the malformed inflorescences was evaluated during three consecutive months. Significantly higher numbers of conidia per gram of malformed inflorescence were detected in May and June than in April. Annual conidial dissemination patterns were evaluated by active and passive trapping of conidia. A peak in trapped airborne conidia was detected in May and June for both years. The daily pattern of conidial dispersal was not associated with a specifically discernable time of day, and an exponential correlation was determined between mean relative humidity (RH) and mean number of trapped conidia. Higher numbers of conidia were trapped when RH values were low (<55%). This is the first detailed report on airborne dispersal of F. mangiferae, serving as the primary means of inoculum spread.