| In coffee farms at various locations in Puerto Rico, coffee fruits (Coffea arabica), with different types of spots were collected. The fruit spots were classified using a scale from 0-6 based on their shape and color. Three methods to isolate the fungi associated with the lesions were tested. The genera Colletotrichum, Fusarium, Cercospora, Trichoderma, Penicillium, Cladosporium and Aspergillus were isolated.;In the laboratory, glomerules with green and single fruits, and beginning to ripe, grown exposed to the sun or in the shade were inoculated. Inoculations to fruits wounded and not wounded were also conducted. A high percentage of lesions was induced in the inoculations with Cercospora sp. in green fruits exposed to the sun, with Fusarium spp. in fruits beginning to ripe grown in the shade, and with Colletotrichum spp. in fruits beginning to ripe exposed to the sun. Overall, pathogenicity was enhanced by wounds. Some isolates of Cercospora sp., Fusarium spp. and Colletotrichum spp., particularly the last two, were consistently pathogenic to coffee fruits in the laboratory. Inoculations in the field were done with wounds using the isolates with pathogenic activity in the laboratory. There was no need to cover the inoculated fruits with plastic bags to obtain successful results. Under natural conditions, all isolates inoculated were pathogenic being Cercospora sp. the most virulent. |
