TITLE:
Fungal Flora on Weeds in the Cashew (Anacardium occidentale L.) Orchard in Côte d’Ivoire
AUTHORS:
Traoré Aboulaye, Soro Sibirina, Ayemou A. R. Emmanuella, Traoré-Ouattara Karidia, Kouabenan Abo, Koné Daouda
KEYWORDS:
Weed, Infection Rate, Symptoms, Cashew, Côte d’Ivoire
JOURNAL NAME:
American Journal of Plant Sciences,
Vol.14 No.4,
April
17,
2023
ABSTRACT: Since 2015, Côte d’Ivoire has been
the world’s largest cashew producer. However, cashew orchards in Côte
d’Ivoire are infected by fungal diseases that weaken production. And the contribution of weeds to the spread of these diseases is
not yet understood. This study was initiated with the aim of establishing the
role of weeds in the proliferation of pathogenic fungi in orchards. It
consisted of a survey of weeds showing disease symptoms in cashew orchards in Côte d’Ivoire from February 2021 to July
2022. The itinerant method was used for the weed inventory. Symptomatic leaves
were collected and sent to the laboratory for diagnosis on PDA (Potatoes
Dextrose Agar) medium. In total, 50 species in 46 genera and 23 families were
recorded. Laboratory diagnosis of the samples showed that 80% of the weeds
identified harboured pathogenic fungi. The
highest infection rates were obtained on Danielia
oliveri R. (99.33% to 100%), Vitellaria
paradoxa G. (100%), Pterocarpus
erinaceus P. (83.91% to 99.33%), Micuna
pruriens L. (98.33% to 100%) and Isoberlinia
doka C. et S. (56.33% to 100%). The diagnosis revealed the presence of Lasiodiplodia sp, Colletotrichum sp, Pestalotia sp, Alternaria sp and Curvularia sp on weeds in the cashew
orchard in Côte d’Ivoire.