Rust is the most common disease in the coffee plantations

Abstract

This work aimed to evaluate the incidence of coffee rust in the following cultivars of Coffea arabica L.: Acaiá IAC 474-19, Catuaí Amarelo IAC 47, Icatu Amarelo IAC 2944, Icatu Vermelho IAC 4045, Obatã IAC 1669-20 and Apoatã IAC 2258 (Coffea canephora Pierre ex Fhroen). The experiment was conducted in Adamantina, northwest region of the state of São Paulo, Brazil. The coffee trees were planted at a spacing of 4.0 x 2.0 m with two plants per hole. Each plot consisted of six lines with 15 to 20 holes each. From June 2008 to December 2009, 30 leaves were randomly collected from the upper, middle and bottom portions of the trees. The leaf rust was found in all cultivars, including on Catuai Amarelo IAC 2944 and Vermelho IAC 4045, although both cultivars are considered resistant to the disease in field conditions. The infections differed significantly among cultivars. The rust symptoms declined with increasing temperature, and the rainfall did not affect the incidence of disease. The less-than-5% infection rate coincided with the occurrence of maximum monthly mean temperatures greater than 30º C.