First Report of Phytophthora capsici Causing Damping-off of Capsicum chinense in the Yucatan Peninsula

Fusarium equiseti strain FCHE and Fusarium oxysporum strain FCHJ were isolated from the roots of wilting habanero pepper (Capsicum chinense Jacq.) seedlings with root rot. Toward developing a biorational control of these serious phytopathogenic strains, ethanolic (EE) and aqueous (AE) extracts of different vegetative parts of 40 tropical native plants of the Yucatán Peninsula were screened for antifungal activity. Extracts of six out of 40 assayed plants were effective, and the most inhibitory extracts were studied further. EEs from Mosannona depressa (bark from stems and roots), Parathesis cubana (roots), and Piper neesianum (leaves) inhibited mycelial growth of both strains. Each active EE was then partitioned between hexane and acetonitrile. The acetonitrile fraction from M. depressa stem bark (MDT-b) had the lowest minimum inhibitory concentration of 1000 µg/mL against both pathogens and moderate inhibitory concentration (IC50) of 462 against F. equiseti and 472 µg/mL against F. oxysporum. After 96 h treatment with EE from M. depressa stem bark, both strains had distorted hyphae and conidia and collapsed conidia in scanning electron micrographs. Liquid chromatography–ultraviolet–high resolution mass spectrometry analysis revealed that the major component of the fraction was α-asarone. Its antifungal effect was verified using a commercial standard, which had an IC50 of 236 µg/mL against F. equiseti and >500 µg/mL against F. oxysporum. Furthermore, the P. cubana hexane fraction and P. neesianum acetonitrile fraction had antifungal activity against both Fusarium pathogens. These compounds provide new options for biorational products to control phytopathogenic fungi.

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First report of the ectomycorrhizal status of boletes on the Northern Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico determined using isotopic methods

Mycorrhiza ◽

10.1007/s00572-010-0355-x ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 21 (6) ◽

pp. 465-471 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Niles J. Hasselquist ◽

Greg W. Douhan ◽

Michael F. Allen

Keyword(s):

Yucatan Peninsula ◽

First Report ◽

Yucatán Peninsula ◽

Isotopic Methods

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Behavior of the Hottest Chili Peppers in the World Cultivated in Yucatan, Mexico

HortScience ◽

10.21273/hortsci13574-18 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 53 (12) ◽

pp. 1772-1775 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Liliana S. Muñoz-Ramírez ◽

Laura P. Peña-Yam ◽

Susana A. Avilés-Viñas ◽

Adriana Canto-Flick ◽

Adolfo A. Guzmán-Antonio ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Genetic Diversity ◽

Yucatan Peninsula ◽

The Other ◽

Capsicum Chinense ◽

Heat Units ◽

Yucatán Peninsula ◽

The World ◽

Chili Peppers ◽

Bhut Jolokia

The Yucatan Peninsula is recognized as the center of genetic diversity of Habanero peppers (Capsicum chinense Jacq.), which can be distinguished from those cultivated in other regions of the world by their aroma, taste, and—most of all—by their pungency. We evaluated three commercial varieties of chili peppers reported as being the hottest in the world: ‘Bhut Jolokia’, ‘Trinidad Moruga Scorpion’, and ‘Carolina Reaper’. The aim of our study was to determine the behavior of the pungency when cultivated under the edaphoclimatic conditions of Yucatan. Our results show that the three varieties registered greater contents in comparison with those reported in other regions of the world. ‘Carolina Reaper’—considered to be the hottest variety in the world, with a pungency of 2,200,000 Scoville heat units (SHU)—when cultivated in Yucatan, had a pungency of 3,006,330 SHU, which was greater than all the other varieties analyzed.

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