ABSTRACT
Cordia americana (L.) Gottschling & J. S. Mill. (guajuvira) is a forest species widely distributed in Brazil and represents environmental and economic importance due to the quality of its timber and use in reforestation. In order to evaluate the pathogenicity of Fusarium sp. associated with seeds, characterizing the isolates morphologically and molecularly in order to identify them on the species level, was obtained four fungal isolates that were inoculated in seeds to demonstrate their pathogenicity. The morphological characterization was performed using an identification key for the genus Fusarium and, for the molecular identification, genomic regions Internal Transcribed Spacer (ITS) were sequenced with its elongation factor 1 alpha (TEF1-α). The results of the molecular identification agreed with the morphological characterization and allowed to identify the species Fusarium acuminatum and Fusarium verticillioides, both being pathogenic to Cordia americana, causing damping-off in pre and post emergence, and rotting of roots and necrosis of hypocotyl.
Keywords:
damping-off; Guajuvira; ITS; TEF1-α
