BREAKING OF RESISTANCE TO PHYTOPHTHORA-CA PSICI LEO IN CHILI (CAPSICUM-ANNUUM-L) SERRANO CM-34 BY NACOBBUS ABERRANS THORNE AND ALLEN

The objectives of this study were: a) to determine if chili plants (Ca psicum annuum L.) of Serrano CM-34 maintain their resistance to Phytop hthora capsici Lee. in the presence of Nacobbus aberrans Thorne and Al ien, and b) if mechanical damage is involved in the breaking of resist ance to P. capsici. Results indicated that resistant chili plants beha ved as susceptible only when the nematode, N. aberrans , was present. Plants of Serrano CM-34 with split root systems showed wilt symptoms o nly in the treatments fungi + nematode together in the same root syste m (H + N-j), fungi + nematode separated (H + N-s) and fungi + artifici al mechanical damage together (H + DMA(j)). Only in treatments H + N a nd H + DMA(j) were dead chili plants present at the end of the experim ent. The fact that breaking of resistance to P. capsici occurred even though a physical separation between fungi and nematodes existed in ch ili plants with split roots, suggests that biochemical and/or physiolo gical alterations were involved in resistance breaking.