Fusarium wilt, caused by three races of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici, is one of the most important diseases of tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum). Races 1 and 2 are distributed worldwide whereas race 3 has a more limited geographic distribution with no report thus far in Brazil. Seven F. oxysporum isolates were obtained from wilted tomato plants of race 1 and 2-resistant hybrids 'Carmen' and 'Alambra' in Venda Nova do Imigrante (State of Espírito Santo), Brazil. Virulence assays were performed using a set of the race differential cultivars: 'Ponderosa' (susceptible to all races), 'IPA-5' (resistant to race 1), 'Floradade' (resistant to races 1 and 2) and 'BHRS-2,3' (resistant to race 3). All isolates were highly virulent to 'Ponderosa', 'IPA-5' and 'Floradade' and were able to infect only a few plants of 'BHRS-2,3'. An additional virulence test was conducted including the same set of cultivars plus Lycopersicon pennellii 'LA 716'. Identical results were obtained with L. pennellii displaying an extreme (immune-like) resistant response. These results indicated that all seven isolates could be classified as F. oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici race 3. This new Fusarium wilt might became an economically important disease since race 3-resistant cultivars adapted to Brazil are not yet available.

Fusarium wilt, caused by three races of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici, is one of the most important tomato diseases. In Brazil, all three races were reported, however, race 3 has been so far restricted only to Espírito Santo State. In the present work, seven F. oxysporum isolates obtained from wilted plants of the race 1 and 2-resistant tomato hybrids 'Giovana', 'Carmen' and 'Alambra' in São José de Ubá and Itaocara (Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil) were characterized at race level. Virulence assays were performed using a set of race differential cultivars: 'Ponderosa' (susceptible to all races), 'IPA-5' (resistant to race 1), 'Floradade' (resistant to races 1 and 2), 'BHRS-2,3' (resistant to all three races). Two wild tomato accessions (Solanum pennellii 'LA 716' e S. chilense 'LA 1967') previously reported as resistant to all Brazilian isolates of F. oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici were also evaluated. Isolates from São José de Ubá and Itaocara were highly virulent to 'Ponderosa', 'IPA-5' and 'Floradade'. They were also able to infect a few plants of 'BHRS-2,3', inducing vascular browning and wilt symptoms. Solanum pennellii and S. chilense accessions displayed an extreme (immune-like) resistant response. These results indicated that all seven isolates could be classified as F. oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici race 3, expanding the geographical distribution of this pathogen within Brazil. The hypothesis of transmission via contaminated seeds is reinforced after the present report, which confirms the almost simultaneous outbreak of race 3 in two geographically isolated tomato-growing areas in Brazil (Espirito Santo and Rio de Janeiro). Evaluation of commercial seed lots imported into Brazil for contamination with the pathogen would be necessary in order to avoid nation-wide spread of this serious disease.

Vegetable crops are exposed to constant infection by numerous diseases, including those caused by the oomycete Phytophthora capsici. This microorganism is a polyphagous plant pathogen, capable of infecting dozens of plant species, including cultivated plants and weeds. The aim of this review is to address topics related to etiology and symptoms of the diseases caused by this oomycete (leaf blight, root rot, crown rot and fruit rot), as well as the integration and application of different control alternatives, such as genetics, cultural, physical, biological, and chemical. Crops such as sweet pepper (Capsicum annuum), chili pepper (Capsicum spp.), tomato (Solanum lycopersicum), eggplant (S. melongena), cucurbits (Cucumis sativus, Cucurbita spp.), among others, are subject to considerable economic losses induced by this pathogen. High soil humidity, high temperatures, resistance structures of the pathogen (oospores), scarce availability of resistant cultivars and a reduced range of effective fungicides are conditions that difficult the management of diseases caused by P. capsici in the field. Despite the irrefutable importance of this pathogen, the existing information regarding its integrated management is limited. Therefore, a successful management will depend to a great extent on its knowledge and its control. Thus, the joint application of different control strategies seeks to maintain the pathogen at low population levels and also keeping the epidemics under the threshold of economic loss. At the end, an integrated pest management approach for P. capsici could result in higher economic returns, long-term sustainable harvests, reduction of the environment impact and better quality products for consumers.