Reação de oito cultivares de morangueiro (Fragaria x ananassa Duch) a Meloidogyne ethiopica

In recent years, the number of strawberry cultivars available for cultivation in the country has increased sharply, along with the increase of cultivation areas, exposing the crop to various phytosanitary problems. Considering phytohematoids of major importance for strawberry cultivation, Meloidogyne ethiopica is responsible for causing significant damage to the crop. The objective of this work was to evaluate the reaction of different strawberry cultivars to Meloidogyne ethiopica, grown in open - air beds in Pouso Alegre, Southern Minas Gerais. The experiment was conducted in a randomized block with eight treatments and four replications, totaling 32 plots. The treatments consisted of eight strawberry cultivars: Albion, Camino Real, Festival, Oso Grande, Dover, Ventana, Verao and Camarosa. The fresh mass of the root system, the number of galls and the reproduction factor in roots of strawberries were evaluated. In order to evaluate the phytonematoid influence on the productive performance of each cultivar, the total production, number and weight of commercial fruits and damaged fruit were evaluated. Only the cultivars Ventana and Summer were resistant to M. ethiopica . In addition, these two cultivars had higher performance in relation to total fruit yield (kg/plant) and number of commercial fruits, thus being the most indicated to be cultivated in the southern region of Minas Gerais.