Radial mycelial growth and sporulation of Corynespora cassiicola isolates

ABSTRACT The fungus Corynespora cassiicola, the causal agent of soybean target spot, presents low sporulation in artificial culture media, which makes difficult the production of spores under laboratory conditions. The objective of this study was to evaluate the sporulation and the mycelium radial growth of 21 C. cassiicola isolates obtained from soybean leaves collected from the main soybean growing regions in Brazil and subjected to different light and stress regimes. The isolates were subjected to three light regimes: continuous light, 12 h / 12 h light-dark and continuous dark, and two mechanical stress conditions: superficial scraping of the colony or absence of stress. The spore production of isolates was quantified by using a hemacytometer, while the radial mycelium growth was determined based on the average of two perpendicular diameters of the colony. Sporulation and mycelium radial growth under different light and stress regimes presented specific behaviors for each isolate. There was no significant correlation between mycelial growth and spore production.