Unravelling Cross Infectivity, Host Range and Cultural Variability of Colletotrichum spp. associated with Mango

Abstract

Anthracnose, caused by Colletotrichum spp., is a major postharvest disease in mango that significantly affects the quality, shelf life and marketability of fruits in both domestic and export markets. The present study evaluated the growth of two Colletotrichum speciesviz.,C. asianum and C. siamense, on ten different culture media. Among these, potato dextrose agar (88.17 mm), oat meal agar (82.00 mm), malt extract agar (81.00 mm) and Sabouraud’s dextrose agar (80.33 mm) were found to be most suitable for the growth of C. asianum, while Richards synthetic agar (89.99 mm) supported maximum growth of C. siamense. Cross-infectivity studies revealed a broad host range for both species across multiple fruit crops. C. asianum was more aggressive on mango (1.61 cm), while C. siamense exhibited higher virulence on grapes (2.25 cm) and mango (2.18 cm).The study emphasizes the significance of using appropriate culture media for efficient isolation of Colletotrichum spp. and highlight the necessity for species and crop-specific disease management strategies based on their differential virulence and host preferences.