The variability of 38 isolates of Alternaria brassicicola was estimated based on disease development and pathogen physiology related variables. Forty-day-old cabbage (Brassica oleracea var. capitata) plants cv. Midori, under greenhouse conditions with isolates of A. brassicicola collected from crucifer commercial fields in Pernambuco, Brazil, were inoculated on . Epidemiological components such as incubation period (IP), disease severity ten days after inoculation (SEV), disease progress rate (DPR) and the area under the disease progress curve (AUDPC) were analyzed. Additionaly, the mycelium growth rate (MGR), spore production (SPO), conidium germination (GER), and sensitivity to iprodione (MGI) were also measured. Alternaria brassicicola isolates were highly variable. The host of origin was of significant effect. Variances due to isolates within a particular host were generally higher than residual variance, except when analyzing PI and GER. There were no significant correlations (P=0.05) between disease-related variables (IP, SEV, DPR, and AUDPC) and the other variables. Cluster analyses based on UPGMA using Euclidean distance did not provide any evidence of cluster, which suggests a highly variable population of A. brassicicola associated with crucifers in Pernambuco.
