Source Year: 2001

The South American Leaf Blight of rubber tree, caused by Microcyclus ulei, was mainly responsible for the decline in rubber production in SOuth America. This disease, which causes the defoliation of the trees and can be fatal, greatly increased as rubber plantations developed in South America. None of the control methods previously tested have been able to effectively control the disease. For about 20 years, the Center of International Cooperation for Agronomic Research and Development has been working onthe interactions between the host Hevea and the pathogen in Kourou, French Guiana. Currently, two main studies deal with the genetic determinism of the resistance of Hevea to M. ulei and the behaviour of 5 specific clones in the field, as well as the variability of the fungus.