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Morphological, pathological and molecular characterization of Phytophthora colocasiae responsible for taro leaf blight disease in India

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Abstract

The oomycetous fungus Phytophthora colocasiae that causes taro leaf blight is one of the most devastating diseases of taro and is widely distributed in India. A combination of morphological (colony morphology, mating type, pathogenicity, metalaxyl sensitivity) and molecular techniques (rDNA ITS sequencing and Start codon targeted polymorphism, ScoT analysis) was used to characterize 50 isolates of P. colocasiae obtained from different locations in India. Considerable differences in morphological parameters were observed. ScoT analysis revealed high polymorphism among the isolates. This study confirms that isolates of P. colocasiae are highly dynamic in nature and a considerable degree of diversity exists among them. A detailed knowledge of the morphological and molecular characters of P. colocasiae will help in developing suitable control strategies against the taro leaf blight disease.

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Acknowledgments

The funding provided for conducting the research work by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research, New Delhi, under IISR outreach program, is gratefully acknowledged. The authors thank the reviewer’s for their valuable comments.

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Author notes

  1. Vinayaka Mahabaleswar Hegde

    Present address: Division of Crop Protection, Central Plantation Crops Research Institute, Kasaragod, 671124, Kerala, India

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Crop Protection, Central Tuber Crops Research Institute, Thiruvananthapuram, 695017, Kerala, India

    Vishnu Sukumari Nath, Vinayaka Mahabaleswar Hegde, Muthulekshmi Lajapathy Jeeva, Syamala Swayamvaran Veena, Mithun Raj & Darveekaran Sree Sankar

  2. Regional Centre of CTCRI, Dumduma HBC P.O, Bhubaneswar, 751 019, Odisha, India

    Raj Shekar Misra

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  1. Vishnu Sukumari Nath
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Correspondence to Vinayaka Mahabaleswar Hegde.

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Nath, V.S., Hegde, V.M., Jeeva, M.L. et al. Morphological, pathological and molecular characterization of Phytophthora colocasiae responsible for taro leaf blight disease in India. Phytoparasitica 43, 21–35 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12600-014-0422-5

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