Reaction of squash and butternut squash genotypes to Phytophthora capsici

ABSTRACT Phytophthora capsici causes significant losses in squash (Cucurbita moschata) and butternut squash (Cucurbita maxima), including root and crown rot, leaf blight and fruit rot, which can result in up to 100% loss in production. The objective of this study was to evaluate the reaction of squash and butternut squash genotypes to P. capsici. Initially an experiment was conducted to evaluate the aggressiveness of isolates of P. capsici from different regions. Later two experiments were carried out in a greenhouse with 16 genotypes of C. moschata and seven of C. maxima in different years, using the most aggressive isolates, PCA 40 and PCA 43 identified as the most aggressive in a preliminary test. As control we used the hybrid cultivar Jabras and the pepper cultivar Cascadura Ikeda (susceptibility patterns to the pathogen). The genotypes were sown in pots of four liters containing autoclaved soil. Fourteen days later, plants were inoculated by depositing 3.0 mL of the suspension of 2.0x104 zoospores/mL in the soil, near to plant stem. The disease incidence was evaluated 8 days after inoculation. The experiments were conducted in a randomized block design with five replicates of four plants. The genotypes showed different levels of disease resistance, TX 10350, PHYT-043, CNPH-3001-1 and MAM-2523-1 stood out because they showed greater degree of resistance to P. capsici in both trials. However, none of the genotypes showed complete resistance. The results indicate the promising use of these genotypes to obtain resistant lines, aiming to obtain hybrid cultivars resistant to Phytophthora root rot.