Morphological diversity, genetics and pathogenicity of Colletotrichum spp. associates of chilean pepper (Capsicum chinense Jacq.)

The cultivation of chilli pepper (Capsicum chinense Jacq.) is subject to the attack of several diseases, like anthracnose that mainly affects the fruits preventing the commercialization. The objective of this work was to perform the morphocultural, molecular and pathogenic characterization of Colletotrichum spp. from chilli pepper, collected in producing municipalities of the State of Amazonas. High variability was observed in morphological characteristics of color and topography of colonies, mycelial growth index, and morphometry of conidia and apressoria. Significant differences were observed in the severity, mean diameter of lesions and incidence when the isolates were inoculated in four species of Capsicum. Ap-PCR genotyping evidenced high genetic diversity among isolates from the same source, and possibly, the existence of different species or complexes of species associated with anthracnose in chilli pepper in the State of Amazonas.