First report of Alternaria alternata causing leaf spot on Aloe barbadensis in India
A. Kamalakannan A , C. Gopalakrishnan A B , R. Renuka A , K. Kalpana A , D. Ladha Lakshmi A and V. Valluvaparidasan AA Department of Plant Pathology, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore 641 003, Tamil Nadu, India.
B Corresponding author. Email: pc_gopal@yahoo.co.in
Australasian Plant Disease Notes 3(1) 110-111 https://doi.org/10.1071/DN08044
Submitted: 21 March 2008 Accepted: 24 July 2008 Published: 6 August 2008
Abstract
Aloe (Aloe barbadensis), an important medicinal plant grown in the state of Tamil Nadu, India has suffered heavy losses due to a leaf disease in 2006. The symptoms observed were small, circular to oval dark brown necrotic sunken spots located mostly on the leaf tip, with average diameter of 1.0 mm and reaching 3.0 mm. The pathogen was isolated and identified as Alternaria alternata and the pathogenicity was established. The conidiophores were branched, straight, golden brown in colour, measuring 15 µm long and 2–6 µm thick. The conidia were golden brown in colour, produced in long branched chains, obclavate in shape, with short conical flask. The literature indicates that this is the first report of a leaf spot disease of aloe in India.
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank P. Kalaiarasan and M. Sivakumar, Department of Nematology, TNAU, Coimbatore-3 for their excellent technical assistance in conducting research.
Akhtar KP,
Saleem MY,
Asghar M, Haq MA
(2004) New report of Alternaria alternata causing leaf blight of tomato in Pakistan. Plant Pathology 53, 816–816.
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[Verified 31 July 2008]
