Passion Fruit (Passiflora spp.) species as sources of resistance to soil phytopathogens Fusarium solani and Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. passiflorae complex

The stem rot and fusarium vascular wilt are among the main factors the most limiting the passion fruit cultivation in the State of Mato Grosso. This study aimed to evaluate the resistance / susceptibility of the genus Passiflora species to soil pathogens from different biomes of Mato Grosso (Corrado, Pantanal and Amazon). The part I evaluated the response of P edulis Sims, P. foetida, P. nitida and P. quadrangularis on eight isolates of F solani. In part II was evaluated the genotypes P. edulis Sims, P. mucronata, P. foetida, P. nitida and P. morifolia on three isolates of F. oxysporum f. sp. passiflorae. The experimental design was randomized blocks in factorial arrangement (genotypes x isolates). The statistical analysis used for both steps were the variance analyses by F test and grouping of averages of genotypes by Scott-Knott test (P <= 0.05). Among the isolates of F. solani was found that isolates FS8A and FS3P are more aggressive, indicating genetic variability among isolates. The most resistant genotypes to the pathogen were P. nitida and P. foetida. Among the isolates of F. oxysporum f. sp. passiflorae there was no significant difference in aggressive levels, and the P. mucronata and P. nitida species are more resistant to Fusarium. Thus genotypes P. nitida, foetida and P. mucronata can be indicated as a resistance source to improvement of commercial passionfruit programs.

Automated summary

The study evaluated the resistance/susceptibility of Passiflora species to soil pathogens in different biomes of Mato Grosso, with P.nitida, foetida, and P.mucronata showing the highest resistance levels. This suggests that these genotypes can be utilized as a source of resistance in commercial passionfruit breeding programs.