POLYMERASE CHAIN REACTION BASED DETECTION OF CHILLI ANTHRACNOSE DISEASE

A polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was investigated to evaluate an anthracnose disease, caused by Colletotrichum species, in chilli fruit produce.
Amongst tested primer sets of ITS1/ITS4, COL1/COL2, and Cg/f-Int/ITS4, the COL1/COL2 primers were used for amplification of the specific internal transcribed spacer region of all tested Colletotrichum species (C. acutatum, C. capsici, and C. gloeosporioides, with a specific band of 460 base pairs.
DNA of Fusarium sp., when used as a negative control, was not amplified by the primers.
However, in a study of sensitivity of anthracnose disease fungal detection, C. gloeosporioides was detected at a low level of 1,000 conidia on chilli leaf and fruit.
This PCR-based method was able to detect a diseased chilli fruit that was inoculated with a mycelial disc 2 days before symptoms appeared.
An estimation of percent anthracnose disease in chilli fruit produce, prepared by mixing healthy and diseased fruits, showed that at 25% disease contamination by weight PCR detection was successful.

I International Conference on Postharvest Pest and Disease Management in Exporting Horticultural Crops – PPDM2012

N. Imjit, C. Rattanakreetakul, R. Pongpisutta

Colletotrichum spp., anthracnose, chilli produce, PCR detection

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2013.973.27