Similar to cacao pod rot, cherelle wilt decreases production from cacao fields. Among all known fungal pathogens of the cacao, Colletotrichum spp. are common infectious agents that affect the cherelles and pods of cacao; thus, cacao diseases are often classified by stage. Therefore, knowing whether these pathogens are common in both fruit stages is necessary for implementing disease control measures. Symptoms of cherelle wilt were found in cacao plants in Pangasinan, Philippines, in 2022. The fungal strain obtained from the lesion was found to be pathogenic towards cherelles, but not towards pods. The strain was classified as an unknown species belonging to the gigasporum species complex, based on the morphological and molecular phylogenetic analyses of ITS, GAPDH, CHS1, ACT, and TUB2. We propose Colletotrichum kapreanum sp. nov. as a causal agent of cacao cherelle wilt, but not pod rot.
Keywords: Colletotrichum kapreanum; Theobroma cacao L.; anthracnose; cacao pod rot; cherelle wilt; gigasporum species complex; new species.