Coffee leaf rust is the most limiting disease for coffee cultivation in Brazil. Despite its importance, relatively little is known about the genetic diversity of Hemileia vastatrix, the rust causal agent. In this work, the DNA from 112 monopustule isolates from different geographic locations and coffee genotypes were analysed by amplified fragment length polymorphisms (AFLP). The objectives were to assess the influence of the host and geographic origin on the diversity and population differentiation in H. vastatrix. The fungal population showed a low level of genotypic diversity. Gene diversity (h) was 0·027 and the hypothesis of random mating in the total population was rejected, but evidence for recombination was found for two subpopulations (São Paulo and Paraná). The analysis of molecular variance revealed that 90% of the genetic distribution of the pathogen occurs among isolates within the subpopulation (states or host of origin). There was no correlation between geographic and genetic distance (r = −0·024, P = 0·74), which together with the high number of migrants and the low degree of differentiation in populations of H. vastatrix, is consistent with the fact that the inoculum is probably easily dispersed by wind over long distances, allowing dispersal of the pathogen among coffee growing areas in Brazil. Therefore, it is difficult to predict the durability of resistant sources to coffee rust. The recommendation for the breeding programmes is thus to incorporate multigenic resistance as a control strategy.

This study aimed to characterize the resistance of 31 passion fruit (Passiflora sp.) genotypes to Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. passiflorae (FOP). About 20 seedlings of each genotype were inoculated by immersing the roots in a suspension of 10 6 macroconidia mL -1 for five minutes and then transplanting them into pots containing a mixture of soil and sterile substrate. They were evaluated daily for 120 days for the occurrence of wilt symptoms and death. These data were used to calculate the area under the disease progress curve, for survival analysis and grouping. The mortality rate ranged from 0 to 100% and the AUDPC ranged from 0 for genotypes without symptoms of the disease to 6,650.63 for the hybrid HFOP-01. Genotypes were classified into four subgroups: resistant, moderately resistant, susceptible and highly susceptible. The resistance was genotype dependent, but no significant variation was found between the purple and the yellow P. edulis.

Despite the occurrence of several diseases of cassava, the cassava black root rot (CBR) represents one of the main limiting factor for crop rentability in the world. However, the etiology of CBR is complex and it needs to be revised based on current molecular analysis. On this work, molecular and morphological studies allowed for the identification of three species of Botryosphaeriaceae causing black root rot disease of cassava in the states of Maranhão and Paraíba, Brazil, namely: Lasiodiplodia euphorbicola, Lasiodiplodia pseudotheobromae and Neoscytalidium hyalinum. This is the first report of these three fungal species as causal agents of CBR in the world.

-The objective of this work was to identify sources of resistance to dry root rot induced by Fusarium sp. in cassava accessions. A macroconidial suspension (20 µL) of 11 Fusarium sp. isolates was inoculated in cassava roots, from 353 acessions plus seven commercial varieties. Ten days after inoculation, the total area colonized by the pathogen on the root pulp was evaluated by digital image analysis. Cluster analysis revealed the presence of five groups regarding resistance. The root lesion areas ranged from 18.28 to 1,096.07 mm 2 for the accessions BGM 1518 and BGM 556, respectively. The genotypes BGM 1042, BGM 1552, BGM 1586, BGM 1598, and BGM 1692 present the best agronomical traits.

Hansen (FOC), resulting in 99% polymorphic fragments, with an average of 40 fragments per primer combination. Specific fingerprints could be generated for most of the isolates evaluated;we observed a high power of discrimination of the AFLP primer combinations, with the presence/ absence of up to 26 specific fragments per isolate. Thus, specific fingerprinting was obtained for 10 of the 15 isolates analyzed. The values of the polymorphic information content, the index and the resolving power of the markers showed wide variation and re� ected the high informaof the markers showed wide variation and re�ected the high informative contents of the primers used in the characterization of the FOP isolates. The FOP isolates were divided into four groups, irrespective of their geographic origins, with the allocation of 5, 7, 1 and 1 FOP isolates into Groups II, III, IV and V, respectively. A wide genetic diversity was observed in FOP isolates, which should be taken into consideration when implementing strategies for the improvement of passion fruit in the search for cultivars with multiple resistance to different isolates.

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Panama disease, caused by Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense (Foc), is ranked among the most destructive diseases of banana. The use of resistant varieties is the most desirable and effective control measure. Information on the pathogen population structure is essential, as durability of the resistance and effective cultivar deployment are strongly linked to this structure. In this study, 214 Foc isolates from different banana producing states in three regions of Brazil (northeastern, southeastern and southern) were analysed. Initially, nine microsatellite markers (SSR) were tested, which revealed 52 distinct haplotypes distributed in the different geographical regions and cultivars. While amova analysis showed that 68·01% of the total variation occurred within states, correlation between genetic and geographical distances was only found in the southern region. Results indicated that isolates from different states comprise a single population, which is predominantly clonal. When isolates representing different haplotypes were inoculated in four banana cultivars, differences in severity were found, with the high severity values being caused by isolates from haplotypes H7, H31 and H41. The diversity found here points to the need for additional studies, as this characteristic may be related to Foc's evolutionary potential and possibly to its ability to overcome the resistance from breeding programme‐generated cultivars. This is the most comprehensive study on population biology of Foc in Brazil.

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