Morphological Diversity and Molecular Analysis of Phytothora palmivora Isolate from Three Districts Cocoa Planting in South Sulawesi
Nur Hardina (*), Tutik Kuswinanti

Departement of Plant Protection, Faculty of Agriculture Hasanuddin University
*[at]nurhardina_hpt[at]unhas.ac.id

Abstract

Phytophthora palmivora causes pod rot on cocoa plants, which greatly impacts on farmers, especially in South Sulawesi. Lack of further research related to morphological characters so that there are still limited references regarding the identification of P.palmivora pathogens on cocoa pods. The research was conducted by taking samples in three districts in South Sulawesi, that are Pinrang, Gowa and Palopo, showing a diversity of morphological characters both macroscopically in the form of fungus colonies in petri dishes and microscopically including the forms of hyphae, chlamydospores, sporangia and other characters that are characteristic of the P.palmivora. There were 10 isolates from 21 isolates obtained and showed different characteristics morphologically. The isolates obtained were then confirmed by Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) testing using specific primers Pa11s and Pa12a for P.palmivora species. The amplification results were at 650 bp indicating that the 10 isolates with various morphological characters were P.palmivora.

Keywords: Phytophthora palmivora, specific primer, pod rot, morphological characters

Topic: Integrated pest and disease management