In Trinidad, sweet pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) is an important crop that is produced for local markets and regional export. From February to April 2010, severe fruit rot was observed in 9 of 11 commercial fields located in North Trinidad in the major production areas of North and South Aranguez. All fields were in the late harvesting stage and the most commonly grown cultivars were Aristotle and Canape. Disease incidence for each field was estimated to be 80% with a yield loss of 40 to 60%. Symptoms appeared on mature red fruits but growers reported that disease can also occur on green fruit. Symptoms began as soft lesions that turned dark brown to black. Lesions usually originated at the calyx end of the fruit and extended down the sides. Fruits were surface sterilized by rinsing with 70% ethanol for 2 min, followed by three rinses with sterile distilled water. Two 4-mm3 blocks of tissue from the opposite sides of fruit lesions were transferred to water agar and incubated for 5 to 7 days at 25 ± 1°C. A 4-mm3 agar block consisting of the leading mycelial edge was then transferred to potato dextrose agar (PDA) and incubated under the same conditions. Colonies on PDA were fast growing with white, fluffy, aerial mycelia; hyphae were septate and hyaline; conidiophores were unbranched; microconidia were abundant, thin walled, hyaline, ovoid, one to two celled, and measured 6 to 10 × 2 to 4 μm. Macroconidia were hyaline, three to four celled, curved, thick walled, and measured 20 to 30 × 4 to 6 μm. PCR amplification was carried out utilizing universal primers ITS4/5 and translation elongation factor primers EF1/2 (2). Sequence comparisons of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region (HM157262) and EF-1α gene (HQ014854) with cognate sequences available in GenBank and the FUSARIUM-ID databases revealed 100 and 99.6% sequence identity, respectively, to Fusarium solani (Mart.) Sacc. Pathogenicity tests were conducted by drop inoculating 10-μl of spore suspension (106 spores/ml) of each of four isolates on wounded and unwounded sites of mature sweet pepper fruits (five per isolate of cvs. Aristotle, Canape, Century, Destra, and Paladin). Control fruits were inoculated with sterile distilled water. Inoculated fruits were kept at 25 ± 1°C in loosely sealed plastic containers and monitored for the onset of symptoms for 6 days. The experiment was conducted twice. Lesions (8.0 to 15.2 mm in diameter) developed on wounded fruit of Aristotle, Canape, and Century. No symptoms were seen on Destra, Paladin, or the water controls. No symptoms developed on nonwounded fruits. Koch's postulates were fulfilled by reisolating the pathogen from infected tissues. Fruit rot caused by F. solani has been reported to be a serious constraint to sweet pepper production in Canada (4), the United Kingdom (1), and New Zealand (3). To our knowledge, this is the first report of Fusarium fruit rot of sweet pepper in Trinidad.
References: (1) J. T. Fletcher. Plant Pathol. 43:225, 1994. (2) D. M. Geiser et al. Eur. J. Plant Pathol. 110:473, 2004. (3) J. L. Tyson. Aust. Plant Pathol. 30:375, 2001. (4) R. Utkhede and S. Mathur. Plant Dis. 87:100, 2003.
