Leaf spot associated with the family Botryosphaeriaceae on Agave karwinskii (cuishe) in Zapotitlan Salinas, Puebla, Mexico.
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.59741/agraria.v23i3.764Keywords:
phytopathogenic fungi, AgaveAbstract
Agave cuishe (Agave karwinskii) is a microendemic species distributed in Oaxaca and Puebla, Mexico, valued primarily for mezcal production. Despite its cultural and economic importance to local communities, available scientific information on this species is scarce and no previous reports on pathogens affecting it existed. In 2025, in the municipality of Zapotitlán Salinas, Puebla, grayish angular leaf spots were detected on wild cuishe leaves, associated with the presence of fungi. The samples were analyzed at the Laboratory of the Faculty of Agriculture of Valle del Fuerte at the Autonomous University of Sinaloa (UAS), where plant tissue sections were prepared and examined by optical microscopy. The structures identified using taxonomic keys corresponded morphologically to pseudothecia of the phylum Ascomycota, class Dothideomycetes, order Botryosphaeriales, and family Botryosphaeriaceae. This family includes genera of agricultural importance such as Botryosphaeria, Diplodia, Lasiodiplodia, and Neofusicoccum, all associated with woody crops. Several fungal species have been reported affecting Mexican agaves; however, the only one documented as belonging to Botryosphaeriaceae is Lasiodiplodia theobromae, which shares similar sexual-stage characteristics with the structures analyzed in this study and was previously reported on A. angustifolia. Although the results are not conclusive at the species level — as complementary molecular analyses are required — this study represents the first report of a possible phytopathogen belonging to the family Botryosphaeriaceae in A. karwinskii, providing initial and relevant information for artisanal mezcal producers and researchers interested in the health of microendemic agave species.
Keywords: Fungi; Botryosphaeria; mezcal
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