Volume 56 Number 4 Article 40
Year 2002 Month 10
Title: Assessing the Potential for Colletotrichum acutatum as a Biological Thinning Agent for Florida Citrus
Authors: E. Stover, Y. Lin, E. Rosskopf and R. Sonoda
Abstract:
Colletotrichum acutatum, causal agent of postbloom fruit drop of citrus, and two induced C. acutatum mutants (3-3 and 3-2) were tested as potential agents for reducing fruit load on 'Valencia' sweet or
ange (Citrus sinensis) and 'Temple' tangor (C. reticulata x C. sinensis). Wild-type C. acutatum RSTand
a C. gloesporioides isolate were applied as conidial suspensions while induced mutants of C. acutatum
(3-3 and 3-2), which produced few con id i a in culture, and the wild-type isolate RST resulted in the characteristic blossom infection and persistent enlarged calyxes ("buttons") associated with postbloom fruit
drop.
The bloom period in 1999 was extremely dry and only the mycelial suspensions of RST resulted
in significant formation of PFD buttons.
In 2000, some rain occurred during bloom, and conidial suspensions of RST resulted in greater button formation than did the mycelial suspensions.
No other treatments resulted in greater button formation than was observed in non-inoculated controls, and little nat
ural PFD was observed.
At harvest, there were no differences in fruit load or fruit size among trees
inoculated with wild-type C. acutatum, mutant C. acutatum isolates, the C. gloeosporioides isolate and
non-inoculated controls.
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