Effects of UV-B radiation on Lecanicillium spp., biological control agents of the coffee leaf rust pathogen

• Autor(a) principal: Galvão, José A. H. [UNESP]
• Data de Publicação: 2014
• Outros Autores: Bettiol, Wagner [UNESP]
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Repositório Institucional da UNESP
• Texto Completo: http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S1982-56762014000500006; http://hdl.handle.net/11449/114608
• topic: Climate change; UV-B; Hemileia vastatrix; biopesticide

Coffee leaf rust is the main disease of coffee and its causal agent is naturally hyperparasited by Lecanicillium lecanii, indicating its potential for biocontrol. Ultraviolet-B (UV-B) radiation is an important factor that interferes on application of biocontrol agents, and Lecanicillium can be affected by UV-B. The objective of this work was to evaluate the effects of UV-B on Lecanicillium isolates and on its capacity to colonize rust lesions. There were variations among Lecanicillium strains in sensitivity to UV-B radiation, causing inactivation and delayed spore germination. The most tolerant strain (CCMA-1143) had LD50=1.63 kJ/m² of UV-B. The incidence and colonization of Lecanicillium on coffee leaf rust lesions were influenced by the dose of UV-B radiation, and were increased when the isolate CCMA-1143 was sprayed on rust lesions. The effects of UV-B should be considered on efficacy studies for the development of biopesticides.