Eradication of fungi in imported plant germplasm

Abstract

The objective of this work was to evaluate the methods used for the eradication of exotic fungi detected in imported plant germplasm. Adapted standard methodologies were used in a level 1 plant quarantine station, located at Embrapa Recursos Genéticos e Biotecnologia, in Brazil. From 1977 to 2013, about 300,000 germplasm accessions from more than 90 countries, from more than 330 different products, were examined. Of the 37 detected exotic fungi, this study highlights four quarantine species belonging to a list of absent quarantine pests: Tilletia indica, Phoma exigua var. foveata, Periconia circinata, and Dactuliochaeta glycines (Syn. Phoma glycinicola). The phytosanitary measures conducted were effective for the interception/eradication of these pathogens. The methodologies used are crucial for the release of genetic material free of exotic pests and favor genetic enrichment of improvement programs of the Sistema Nacional de Pesquisa Agropecuária, the national agricultural research system.