Patogenicidad de cepas de Ustilago maydis para la producción en condiciones controladas

The wide pathogenic variability in strains of Ustilago maydis allows evaluation in hybrid and creole maize seeds for the production of huitlacoche. Therefore, the objective in this study was to evaluate the pathogenic capacity of U. maydis strains in the state of Aguascalientes, Mexico during the period 2014-2016 in hybrid and creole maize to produce huitlacoche under conditions controlled by the artificial inoculation method. Evaluating four strains of Aguascalientes and two witness strains originating in the State of Mexico, in three hybrids and three creole, con a completely random experimental design with three repetitions in 6x4 factorial arrangement. Thus, obtaining significant differences between commercial varieties and the three crosses evaluated, where cross 2 presented the highest pathogenicity with 59.6% (native) and 76.9% (hybrids) for severity index, in incidence with 82.2% (native) and 93.3% (hybrids), for grams per cob infected with 73.9 g (native) and 134 g (hybrids) and for yield per hectare it was 4.1 t ha-1 (native) and 7.7 t ha-1 (hybrids). The hybrid A7573 presented the highest susceptibility for the three crosses evaluated. Thus, concluding that the strains of the state Aguascalientes present pathogenicity, being a good option for the production of huitlacoche under controlled conditions.