Antifungal potential of cinnamon essential oils against Phytophthora colocasiae causing taro leaf blight

Background Taro leaf blight, caused by a severely destructive oomycete fungus Phytophthora colocasiae, is responsible for threatening yield loss worldwide. The pathogen has the ability to germinate and spread rapidly to other plants during favorable conditions resulting in acute decline and even death, causing 100% crop loss. Farmers usually rely on highly toxic systemic fungicides to control the disease, which is effective, but residual effects and resistance of these agrochemicals is still a concern. Recently as returning to nature people tend to use chemical-free products, especially edible stuff produced in organic agriculture. Therefore, the use of bio-pesticides and phytochemicals is gaining special attention by scientists as they are ecofriendly non-hazardous, sustainable, and potent alternatives to control many virulent plant pathogens The present research was conducted to assess the antifungal potential of cinnamon essential oils against P. colocasiae. Materials and methods The essential oils from cinnamon bark were extracted using microwave-assisted hydrodistillation equipment, and then their chemical constituents were evaluated using ATR FTIR spectroscopy. The antifungal potential of essential oil was assessed against mycelium, sporangia, zoospore, leaf necrosis, and corms lesions under laboratory conditions at, 0.156, 0.312, 0.625, 1.25, 2.5, 5.0 mg/mL concentrations. Hymexazol was used as positive control and no essential oil as negative control, while each treatment have three replications and experiment repeated twice. Results The main component of oil was identified as cinnamaldehyde. The pathogen isolated from infected taro leaves was identified as P.colocasiae and then was used as a test fungus in the current study. Repeated experiments show maximum inhibition percentage of mycelial growth, zoospore germination, and sporulation of the fungus were observed at 0.625 mg/mL, whereas leaf necrosis was 100% inhibited at 1.25 mg/mL concentration. Conclusion This research can be a reference for easy, cost-effective and environment-friendly management and control of taro leaf blight with phytochemicals and plant essential oil derivatives. Graphic abstract

Causes and suggested remedies to taro endangerment in four regions of Ghana

Background Many plant species worldwide cultivated for food have been neglected and are being underutilized despite their crucial contributions to food security, nutrition and income generation to rural citizens, leading to a nearly permanent diet deficiency. Taro (Colocasia esculenta (L.) Schott), an important food crop in the family Araceae, is one of the neglected species. This study therefore focused on identifying potential challenges mitigating taro production and utilization in taro-producing areas of Ghana and to formulate recommendations for overall increased production and utilization of the crop. The study was conducted in Ahanta West Municipal, Dormaa Municipal, Kumasi Metropolitan and East Akim Municipal in the Western, Bono, Ashanti and Eastern Regions of Ghana, respectively. These districts were ever known for taro production in Ghana. Well-structured questionnaires were used to collect information on ethnobotany of taro, possible causes of taro endangerment and remedies to combat them from farmers, traders and consumers. Results The survey revealed different vernacular names for taro, and the corm was the main part used as food. The corms were usually boiled before eaten. Major recipes of taro identified were “Puree and Ampesi.” The study revealed that taro was mainly cultivated on marginal soils as well as near water bodies. Taro was largely cultivated on subsistence scale. The study also revealed that utilization as food and tool of trade has reduced drastically. Major causes of taro extinction reported included: lack of healthy planting materials, unavailability of consumable corms and disease [Taro leaf blight disease(TLBD)] of the crop. Conclusion It was suggested that the release of cultivars which are resistant to the TLBD and publication of the nutritional benefits of the crop could revive the cultivation and utilization of the crop.

Genome Sequence Resource of Phytophthora colocasiae from China Using Nanopore Sequencing Technology

Phytophthora colocasiae is a destructive oomycete pathogen of taro (Colocasia esculenta), which causes taro leaf blight. To date, only one highly fragmented Illumina short-read-based genome assembly is available for this species. To address this problem, we sequenced strain Lyd2019 from China using Oxford Nanopore Technologies (ONT) long-read sequencing and Illumina short-read sequencing. We generated a 92.51-Mb genome assembly consisting of 105 contigs with an N50 of 1.70 Mb and a maximum length of 4.17 Mb. In the genome assembly, we identified 52.78% repeats and 18,322 protein-coding genes, of which 12,782 genes were annotated. We also identified 191 candidate RXLR effectors and 1 candidate CRN effectors. The updated near-chromosome genome assembly and annotation resources will provide a better understanding of the infection mechanisms of P. colocasiae.

Field management of Taro (Colocasia esculenta (L.) Schott) leaf blight via fungicidal spray of foliage

Taro leaf blight (TLB) epidemic hit Cameroon for the first time in 2009. Since then, the disease is persistent and its typical devastating legacy is threatening Taro (Colocasia esculenta) in the North and South West Regions of Cameroon. This study was initiated with the objective to determine the potentials of some fungicides to control TLB. The experimental design was completely randomized with a 3x15x2 factorial, including 3 treatments: T1 (Callomil plus72WP), T2 (Mancoxyl plus 720WP) and T3, 1:1 ratio T1 + T2 all applied at concentrations of 4g/L; 15 repetitions and 2 planting seasons (dry season i.e. October 2014 – March 2015 and rainy season i.e. April-October 2015). Disease incidence and disease severity were used to evaluate the disease progression while corm yield was used to appraise the economic injury. The results revealed disease incidence of 0% during the dry season and 18.2%, 27.3% and 100%, for T1, T2 and T3 and control during rainy season respectively. Disease severity was 75% in control and only 1% for the different treatments. Corm yield in the rainy season was 17.4kg, 15.08kg, 14.27kg and 5.89kg for T1, T2, T3 and control respectively. This study suggests that TLB epidemic can effectively be managed by foliage spray with Metalaxyl containing fungicides at a weekly dosage of 4g/L. Key words: Chemical control, Colocasia esculenta, Epidemic, Phytopathology, Phytophthora colocasiae

Conclusions and future prospects.

This book chapter outlines the future steps in improving the status of the tropical tuber crops: (1) reduce the period of maturity of all the TTCs to 110-150 days, (2) improve the tuber shape and make them more definitive in shape, (3) improve plant architecture to attain a harvest index of 0.70, (4) eliminate antinutritional factors and improve nutritive values, (5) impart resistance to the three major biotic problems afflicting the TTCs: CMD (cassava mosaic disease), taro leaf blight and sweet potato weevil, (6) introduce determinacy in cassava and yams, (7) increase the post-harvest storage life, (8) reduce the loss during post-harvest storage, transportation and processing, (9) use biotechnological means to alter starch characteristics like amylose content, chain length and phosphorus content in starch, (10) it is also suggested that there should be a 'starch bank', which acts as a repository of different starches and provides information on all physicochemical and functional properties for various applications to researchers and industries, and (11) an organization to carry out exclusive research on tuber starches may be established in any of the TTC-growing countries.

Evaluation of Fungicide against Taro Leaf Blight Disease Caused by Phytophthora colocasiae in Three Agro-Ecological Zones of Cameroon

Globally the taro leaf blight (Phytophthora colocasiae) disease causes between 50 to 70% yield loss. Four taro landraces were planted in three agroecological zones of Cameroon; the Western Highlands (Bambui), Mono-Modal Humid Forest (Ekona), and the Bimodal Humid Forest (Nkolbisson) and evaluated for taro blight severity in four successive growing seasons in March and July, 2018 and 2019. Different concentrations of copper oxide (600 g)–Metalaxyl (120 g) fungicide were applied to control taro blight before and during plant growth. Results showed that, in all the field sites, the disease severity of Phytophthora colocasiae greatly decreased below 1.5 with varying concentrations of copper oxide (600 g)–Metalaxyl (120 g) fungicide applied at two-week intervals. The control field at Ekona recorded the highest taro blight severity of 7.8. There was no significant difference in taro blight severity (P≤0.05) between landraces treated with the different concentrations of copper oxide (600 g)–Metalaxyl (120 g) fungicide. Therefore, lower concentrations (0.33% and 0.27%) of copper oxide (600 g)–Metalaxyl (120 g) can be effectively used in the pre and post control of taro blight in the field. All the landraces in the screen house experiments were susceptible to P. colocasiae. In all the zones, Landrace L2 (red petiole small leaves) was highly resistant to P. colocasiae and should be recommended to farmers for optimum taro production in the three agro-ecological zones and zones with similar characteristics.

Assessing Taro (Colocasia esculenta (L.) Schott) Leaf Blight Incidence, Severity, and Farmers’ Knowledge of the Disease in Fako Division of Cameroon

Taro leaf blight (TLB), a major disease of taro plant caused by Phytophthora colocasiae, a pseudo-fungus, that occurs in many taro producing areas, especially in the South West of Cameroon. A Survey was conducted to assess farmers’ knowledge, as well as to determine the incidence and the severity of the disease in taro fields. Structured questionnaires were administered in selected locations (Bokova, Ekona, Muea, Mile 16, Mutengene, and Likomba) of taro production. Two farms were selected with two quadrats of 64 m2 each were carved to assess disease incidence and severity on taro. The number of plants infected with taro leaf blight were counted and the area of the affected leaves measured was used to evaluate the disease incidence and disease severity. Data collected were subjected to ANOVA for complete randomized design and the means were compared using Tukey test at 0.05 probability levels. The results revealed that most of the farmers could identify the disease while practicing cultural methods in controlling the disease. The results also revealed significant differences (p = 0.001) in disease incidence and disease severity in all the localities, with Mile 16 showing the highest percentage mean of 96.53% and 85.59%, respectively. The severity scored showed high infection range of 3 – 3.95 in all locations except in Likomba (2.60). It could be concluded from the results that there were high prevalence of taro leaf blight disease in Fako Division. Good management strategies are therefore required to control Taro leaf blight and improve taro production in the area.

Taro Genome Assembly and Linkage Map Reveal QTLs for Resistance to Taro Leaf Blight

Taro (Colocasia esculenta) is a food staple widely cultivated in the humid tropics of Asia, Africa, Pacific and the Caribbean. One of the greatest threats to taro production is Taro Leaf Blight caused by the oomycete pathogen Phytophthora colocasiae. Here we describe a de novo taro genome assembly and use it to analyze sequence data from a Taro Leaf Blight resistant mapping population. The genome was assembled from linked-read sequences (10x Genomics; ∼60x coverage) and gap-filled and scaffolded with contigs assembled from Oxford Nanopore Technology long-reads and linkage map results. The haploid assembly was 2.45 Gb total, with a maximum contig length of 38 Mb and scaffold N50 of 317,420 bp. A comparison of family-level (Araceae) genome features reveals the repeat content of taro to be 82%, >3.5x greater than in great duckweed (Spirodela polyrhiza), 23%. Both genomes recovered a similar percent of Benchmarking Universal Single-copy Orthologs, 80% and 84%, based on a 3,236 gene database for monocot plants. A greater number of nucleotide-binding leucine-rich repeat disease resistance genes were present in genomes of taro than the duckweed, ∼391 vs. ∼70 (∼182 and ∼46 complete). The mapping population data revealed 16 major linkage groups with 520 markers, and 10 quantitative trait loci (QTL) significantly associated with Taro Leaf Blight disease resistance. The genome sequence of taro enhances our understanding of resistance to TLB, and provides markers that may accelerate breeding programs. This genome project may provide a template for developing genomic resources in other understudied plant species.