Caused by Alternaria alternata, Alternaria brown spot (ABS) is a major fungal disease of mandarins in Brazil, causing serious losses in commercial orchards of Ponkan tangerine (Citrus reticulata Blanco) and Murcott tangor [C. sinensis (L.) Osbeck × C. reticulata Blanco]. The response of 31 accessions/genotypes of mandarins and their hybrids to A. alternata, was evaluated in São Paulo state, Brazil. The incidence and severity of the disease in fruit were evaluated in the field, using diagrammatic scale, four times during 2008 and 2009. Based on these data, the area under the disease progress curve (AUDPC) was calculated. In parallel, in vivo and in vitro inoculations with A. alternata were made on leaves to confirm field results. Resistance and susceptibility was evaluated in controlled experiments by counting the number of lesions per leaf using a diagrammatic scale. Most of the genotypes were symptomatic after inoculation with A. alternata with disease most severe on the hybrids Nova, África do Sul, Ponkan and Murcott. Cultivars like Cravo, Nules and Ortanique that have excellent fruit quality and had lower AUDPCs, whereas Fremont and Thomas were highly resistant to the fungus and did not show any symptoms in the field or in controlled inoculations. The attractiveness and pronounced flavor of Fremont and Thomas fruit make them new options for the citriculture.

A severidade da mancha-marrom de alternária nos pomares brasileiros de tangerinas tem causado sérias preocupações aos citricultores, devido aos prejuízos em plantios comerciais de variedades suscetíveis, como a tangerina Ponkan e o tangor Murcott. Para avaliar a resposta de diferentes genótipos ao fungo, foram realizadas inoculações de Alternaria alternata in vitro e in vivo, em 54 diferentes genótipos de tangerinas e seus híbridos, selecionados no Banco Ativo de Germoplasma de Citros do Centro APTA Citros Sylvio Moreira, do Instituto Agronômico, em Cordeirópolis-SP, visando a encontrar variedades resistentes. Para isso, inicialmente, testes de patogenicidade foram realizados com dez isolados de A. alternata para a seleção dos mais agressivos. Posteriormente, foram realizadas inoculações em folhas destacadas e em plântulas e, aos dois (in vitro) e três (in vivo) dias após, fez-se a contagem do número de lesões/folha e a estimativa da severidade da doença com auxílio de escala diagramática (in vivo). A maior parte dos genótipos apresentou sintomas da doença, porém com diferentes graus de suscetibilidade. Genótipos como a tangerina Sul da África e o tangelo Orlando foram os mais suscetíveis. Por outro lado, o grupo das satsumas e mexericas, assim como algumas tangerinas mostraram-se resistentes, indicando novas opções para a citricultura nacional.

The confirmation of a new disease in the Brazilian tangerine orchards, the alternaria brown spot, has been concerning citrus growers because of the serious damages to commercial crops of susceptible varieties, such as Ponkan tangerine and Murcott tangor. In this research, in vitro and in vivo inoculations of Alternaria alternata fungus were held in 54 different varieties of the tangerine group selected from the Citrus Germoplasm Bank of Centro APTA Citros Sylvio Moreira, Instituto Agronomico, Cordeirópolis, State of São Paulo, Brazil, aiming to find varieties with more resistance. First, a pathogenicity test with ten different A. alternata isolates was made to select the most aggressive one. After this, inoculations in detached leaves and seedlings were held and, approximately two (in vitro) and three (in vivo) days after, the number of lesions in each leaf was counted, and the disease severity estimated with diagrammatic scale help (in vivo). More than a half of varieties showed symptoms of the disease, however with different levels of susceptibility. Varieties like South African tangerine and Orlando tangelo were the most susceptible; on the other hand the satsumas and willow leaf group and some tangerines, like Thomas and Fremont, showed resistance, indicating new options to the brazilian citriculture.

O estudo do desenvolvimento das plantas relacionado com as condições climáticas de uma região permite a elaboração de modelos de previsão que podem ser úteis na programação de colheita. Esses modelos possibilitam prever o início da safra e a duração dos diferentes períodos fenológicos das plantas, assim como auxilia no manejo de práticas agrícolas. Esta pesquisa teve como objetivo estudar variedades de tangerinas do tipo Murcott enxertadas em diferentes porta-enxertos, avaliando a resposta fenológica de cada uma delas em função do acúmulo de graus-dia. O experimento foi conduzido no Centro Avançado de Pesquisa Tecnológica do Agronegócio de Citros Sylvio Moreira/IAC, localizado na cidade de Cordeirópolis-SP, durante a safra 2003-2004. O delineamento utilizado foi o de blocos casualisados e esquema fatorial 5 (variedades copas) x 3 (porta-enxertos), com 4 repetições, com uma planta por parcela. As variedades estudadas foram Thomas, Szuwinkon, Szuwinkon x Szinkon-Tizon e Sul da África, tendo como testemunha o tangor Murcott. Essas copas foram enxertadas em limoeiro Cravo, tangerineira Sunki e citrumeleiro Swingle, e plantadas em 1995. Para a caracterização fenológica, foram atribuídas notas de uma escala elaborada para os estádios fenológicos, desde o pré-florescimento até a maturação fisiológica dos frutos, determinando as datas de ocorrência das fases reprodutivas das plantas. Com isso, calculou-se o acúmulo de graus-dia para os subperíodos fenológicos. Pelas características das combinações, existem diferenças nas respostas das plantas, onde: a) o acúmulo de graus-dia, da antese até ratio 12, variou de 2.272 GD a 2.836 GD, sendo que as tangerinas Szuwinkon, Szuwinkon x Szinkon-Tizon e Sul da África obtiveram os menores valores (<FONT FACE=Symbol>»</FONT> 2.318 GD), a Murcott cerca de 2.462 GD e a tangerina Thomas os maiores valores (<FONT FACE=Symbol>»</FONT> 2.791 GD); foram observadas diferenças de 20 dias do florescimento até ratio 12, dependendo da combinação copa/porta-enxerto.

The relationship between plant growth and climatic conditions make possible to develop harvest forecast models. This work studied varieties of tangerines similar to Murcott tangor grafted on different rootstocks and evaluated for phenological response to accumulation of degree-days (DD). The experiment was conducted at the "Centro Avançado de Pesquisa Tecnológica do Agronegócio de Citros Sylvio Moreira/IAC", Cordeirópolis SP, during the 2003-04 season. The experiment was designed in random blocks in a factorial scheme of 5 (canopy cultivars) x 3 (rootstocks), with 4 replicates and one tree per plot. The studied varieties were: Thomas, Szuwinkon, Szuwinkon x Szinkon-Tizon, South Africa and the control Murcott tangor. These varieties were grafted on Rangpur lime, Sunki tangerine and Swingle citrumelo, planted in 1995. For the phenological characterization, grades were attributed according to a scale elaborated for the phenological stages, starting on the pre-flowering until the physiological maturation of the fruits. The determination of the dates of each reproductive phase in the studied plants was done. With that, it was possible to calculate the accumulation of degree-days for phenological sub-periods. According to the canopy/rootstock combinations there were differences in tree responses, such as: a) the accumulation of degree-days, from the anthesis to ratio 12, which varied from 2272 to 2836 DD; the Szuwinkon, Szuwinkon x Szinkon-Tizon and South Africa tangerines had the smallest requirement (<FONT FACE=Symbol>»</FONT> 2328 DD); the Murcott tangor, intermediate (<FONT FACE=Symbol>»</FONT> 2462 DD); and the Thomas tangerine, the largest (<FONT FACE=Symbol>»</FONT> 2791); it was observed 20 days of differences from flowering to ratio 12, depending of canopy/rootstock combination.