Isolation and identification of pathogen causing anthracnose of Polygonatum kingianum and inhibitory activity of 10 plant-derived compounds

Polygonatum kingianum is one of the most valuable Chinese medicinal materials. Because of the increasing planting area, anthracnose has become a limiting factor affecting the production of P. kingianum in recent years. In this study, 12 putative diseased samples of P. kingianum were collected from Xundian County, Kunming City, Yunnan Province and the fungal isolates were isolated from symptomatic leaf tissues. All the isolates were identified by the morphology, multigene sequences (ITS, ACT, CAL, CHS-1, GAPDH and TUB2) and pathogenicity tests. The results showed that Colletotrichum fructicola is the main causal agent of the anthracnose of P. kingianum in Xundian County. Furthermore, the inhibitory activity of 10 plant-derived compounds on C. fructicola was evaluated by plate fumigation or medicated medium methods. The results indicated that α-terpineol, 4-terpineol and carvacrol had significant inhibitory effects on C. fructicola, with EC₅₀ values of 54.26, 81.74 and 94.78 μL/L, respectively. The results provided a theoretical basis for the green prevention and control of anthracnose of P. kingianum.