Abstract
Dragon fruit canker (DFC) disease caused by the fungus Neoscytalidium dimidiatum poses a significant threat to yield and fruit quality in cultivating dragon fruit (Hylocereus spp.). Accurate assessment of canker severity is crucial for determining the effectiveness of management strategies for controlling this disease. We developed a standard area diagram set (SADs) consisting of nine levels of disease severity (0.5 to 60%) and subsequently validated the SADs based on the patterns and distribution of the symptoms. For the validation, eighteen raters with no prior experience in disease assessment were recruited to estimate the severity of canker symptoms on 50 stems/cladodes of dragon fruit before and after using SADs. Both accuracy and precision were improved when they used the SADs. Statistical parameters for the 18 raters were as follows: bias coefficient factor (Cb) without SADs = 0.791, with SADs = 0.982; correlation coefficient (r) without SADs = 0.884, with SADs = 0.918; Lin's concordance correlation coefficient (ρc) without SADs = 0.702, with SADs = 0.902. Estimates were also more reliable by using the SADs: inter-rater coefficient of determination (R2) without SADs = 0.749, with SADs = 0.810. The newly developed SADs provide a practical, standardized tool for assessing dragon fruit canker severity, aiding researchers and growers in more accurate disease monitoring, yield loss estimation, intervention planning, and control measure evaluation.
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Acknowledgments
We extend our gratitude to Allysson Arianna Plaza for her invaluable support throughout this study, and we appreciate the dedication of all the volunteers who took part in the validation process. The author HSSD would like to thank the National Council for Technological and Scientific Development (CNPq/Brazil) for the research scholarship. The work upon which this publication is based was funded, in whole or in part, through a subrecipient grant awarded by the United States Department of Agriculture, Agriculture Marketing Service through the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services Specialty Crop Block Grant Program (AWD11679; 2022-2024). The contents do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the United States Department of Agriculture nor does mention of trade names, commercial productions, services, or organization imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.
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Dutra, P.S.S., de Carlos da Rocha, M.G., da Silva Silveira Duarte, H. et al. A standard area diagram set for assessing severity of dragon fruit (Hylocereus spp.) stem canker caused by Neoscytalidium dimidiatum. Eur J Plant Pathol (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10658-024-02876-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10658-024-02876-3