Additional species of aspergillus causing bole rot disease in agave sisalana

Abstract

The production of sisal in Bahia, Brazil, has been declining due to the occurrence of a disease know as bole rot. Aspergillus niger was regarded as the only causal agent. In this study A. brasiliensis and A. tubingensis, in addition to Aspergillus niger, identified on the basis of morphological and molecular analyses, were shown to cause bole rot of sisal. Their pathogenicity was confirmed but their significance for the epidemiology of the disease in the field remains unclear.