Inventory of fungal pathogens of early maturing Mango varieties in the Kounkane

In Senegal, mango production, in spite of a positive record performance in recent years, is confronted with numerous diseases. The rainfall richer south and south eastern parts of the country, stand among the main contributors of mango production. Fruits are known to by infested and rotten almost totally when they mature in the rainy season. However, a lot of mango varieties mature before onset of the moist rainy season. The present study was therefore undertaken to make an inventory of the causing agents of pre- and post-harvest diseases of mangoes maturing before the rain starts. Samples were taken from the fields and brought to the laboratory for analysis. The results showed that Colletotrichum spp., Pestalotia sp., Lasiodiplodia sp., Fusarium spp., Curvularia sp., Alternaria sp. and non- sporulating fungi were associated with diseased organs in tree canopy. Fungal diversity was higher for orchards harboring trees over 15 years of age. For the mangoes, the disease incidence reached 13% after harvest. This infestation was due to by 50% to non-sporulating fungi, 31% to Colletotrichum spp., 13% to Fusarium spp. and 6% to Lasiodiplodia sp. These results show the pathogens are present in the fields and that their dynamic depend on the climatic conditions.