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Sensitivity to metalaxyl, mefenoxam, and cymoxanil in Phytophthora andina isolates collected from tree tomato (Solanum betaceum) in Ecuador

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Abstract

In Ecuador, tree tomato (Solanum betaceum) production is continuous throughout the year. Blight caused by Phythophthora andina is usually controlled with frequent fungicide applications containing the active ingredients metalaxyl, mefenoxam, or cymoxanil. The constant presence of inoculum year-round, the high number of sprays per season, and a pathogen population constituted by a single clonal lineage, exert a high selection pressure for development of resistance to these fungicides. The objective of this study was to measure the sensitivity of P. andina from tree tomato to the active ingredients metalaxyl, mefenoxam, and cymoxanil. For that, 69 isolates were collected from tree tomato in five provinces of Ecuador and evaluated in vitro with standard techniques to classify them as resistant, intermediate, or sensitive to metalaxyl and mefenoxam. Thirty-one of these isolates were evaluated in vitro for their sensitivity to cymoxanil by estimating EC50 by probit analysis. Most isolates were sensitive to metalaxyl (44.9%) and mefenoxam (56.5%), and 29% of the isolates had intermediate sensitivity to both fungicides. The percentage of resistant isolates was higher with metalaxyl (26.1%) than with mefenoxam (14.5%). Isolates showed a wide range of sensitivity to cymoxanil with EC50 values between 0.016 and 208.288 μg/mL. Restriction of mycelial growth occurred even with the lowest concentration dosage (0.1 μg/mL). Most isolates (55.6%) had intermediate sensitivity to cymoxanil, 40.7% were sensitive, and only one (3.7%) was resistant. The resistant isolate was collected in Napo and is the first report of resistance to cymoxanil in Ecuador. The Ecuadorian population of P. andina attacking tree tomato shows some level of resistance to three of the fungicides used to control the disease, and therefore the alternating use of active ingredients is advisable to reduce the increase of resistance in the pathogen population.

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Data availability

The datasets generated and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request. Isolate information is available on-line at BioWeb, https://bioweb.bio/portal.

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Acknowledgements

We thank the International Potato Center (Quito) and Marcelo Vinueza for their assistance with Phytophthora andina isolates and Fabián Muñoz for assistance in the statistical analysis.

Funding

This study was supported by the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador (Projects QINV0183 and QINV040).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Fungario QCAM, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador, Quito, Ecuador

    María Gabriela Chacón, Erika Caicedo & María Eugenia Ordóñez

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  1. María Gabriela Chacón
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  2. Erika Caicedo
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  3. María Eugenia Ordóñez
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Contributions

Project conceptualization and supervision: MG Chacón and ME. Ordóñez. Pathogen collection and isolation: E Caicedo, MG Chacón. Designed the experiments: MG Chacón, E Caicedo. Performed the experiments: E Caicedo. Analyzed the data: MG Chacón, E Caicedo. Project administration: ME Ordóñez. Writing original draft: MG Chacón. All the authors commented on drafts of the manuscript and read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to María Gabriela Chacón.

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Chacón, M.G., Caicedo, E. & Ordóñez, M.E. Sensitivity to metalaxyl, mefenoxam, and cymoxanil in Phytophthora andina isolates collected from tree tomato (Solanum betaceum) in Ecuador. Trop. plant pathol. 47, 786–794 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40858-022-00512-1

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