Changes in the Aggressiveness and Fecundity of Hot Pepper Anthracnose Pathogen (Colletotricum acutatum) under Elevated CO2 and Temperature over 100 Infection Cycles

We observed the changes in aggressiveness and fecundity of the anthracnose pathogen Colletotrichum acutatum on hot pepper, under the ambient and the twice ambient treatments. Artificial infection was repeated over 100 cycles for ambient (25 degrees C/400 ppm CO2) and twice-ambient (30 degrees C/700 ppm CO2) growth chamber conditions, over 3 years. During repeated infection cycles (ICs) on green-pepper fruits, the aggressiveness (incidence [% of diseased fruits among 20 inoculated fruits] and severity [lesion length in mm] of infection) and fecundity (the average number of spores per five lesions) of the pathogen were measured in each cycle and compared between the ambient and twice ambient treatments, and also between the early (ICs 31-50) and late (ICs 81-100) generations. In summary, the pathogen's aggressiveness and fecundity were significantly lower in the late generation. It is likely that aggressiveness and fecundity of C. acutatum may be reduced as global CO2 and temperatures increase.