Aetiology and causal agents of mango sudden decline disease in the Sultanate of Oman

Mango sudden decline is a recently introduced, economically serious disease in Oman. Affected mango trees have wilting symptoms that usually begin on one side and later spread to involve the entire tree. Trees exude amber-coloured gum from the bark of their trunks or branches and vascular tissues are discoloured. Having entered Oman in the recent past, survey data is presented that shows the disease to have spread throughout the northern part of the country. Evidence is presented that the vascular wilt pathogen Ceratocystis fimbriata causes mango sudden decline disease in Oman, possibly in concert with Lasiodiplodia theobromae and the recently described Ceratocystis omanensis. Isolates of these fungi from affected trees, cause infection and can be recovered from inoculated seedlings. Bark beetles (Hypocryphalus mangiferae) are shown to carry C. fimbriata and L. theobromae and are presumably responsible for transmitting both pathogens to healthy mango trees. Acting as a wounding agent and vector, the bark beetle is likely to have assisted the rapid spread of the disease across Oman.     

Integrated control of verticillium wilt of olive with cryptonol in combination with a solar chamber and fertilizer

A study was conducted during 2 years to determine the effects of three different control measures on the development of Verticillium wilt on olive trees cv. ‘Nabali’ at Al-Hallabat, Jordan. The causal agent of the wilt wasVerticillium dahliae Kleb. Treating diseased trees with Cryptonol (8-hydroxyquinoline sulfate) in a soil drench, or covering trees with a solar chamber for 15 days, was effective in suppressing disease development. The fertilizer treatment (NPK, 15:15:30) decreased disease severity and percent infection. All decreases are in comparison with the untreated control, and as recorded during the active phase of the pathogen. The treatments did not differ significantly from each other, and disease incidence in treated trees remained lower than in the control throughout the examined period.     

Pine Wilt Disease Caused by the Pine Wood Nematode: The Induced Resistance of Pine Trees by the Avirulent Isolates of Nematode

Since the beginning of the 20th century, pine trees in Japan have been seriously damaged by the pine wilt disease. This disease is caused by the pine wood nematode, Bursaphelenchus xylophilus, which is transmitted by the Japanese pine sawyer, Monochamus alternatus. The control of disease depends to a large extent on chemicals, but the public is now demanding environmentally friendly control methods. The virulence of B. xylophilus varies very widely. Pre-inoculation of young pine trees in a nursery with avirulent B. xylophilus has induced systemic resistance of trees against a subsequent inoculation with virulent B. xylophilus. This induced resistance was considered a hopeful means for developing a biological control for the disease. The induced resistance by the avirulent nematodes was also expressed in mature pine trees in a forest where the disease was naturally epidemic. However, the effects of induced resistance were not satisfactory for practical biological control. Since the inoculation with higher concentrations of the avirulent B. xylophilus induced the resistance more effectively, the pre-inoculation method will need to be improved to develop the biological control. The induced resistance of pine trees by avirulent B. xylophilus should be one of the candidate biological control methods against pine wilt disease. This induced resistance also provides an experimental system to clarify physiological interactions between the nematodes and pine trees.     

Spatiotemporal characterization of citrus postbloom fruit drop in Brazil and its relationship to pathogen dispersal

Citrus postbloom fruit drop (PFD) is caused by Colletotrichum acutatum and C. gloeosporioides. These pathogens attack the flowers and cause premature fruit drop and the retention of fruit calyces. This study was designed to characterize the spatial and temporal dynamics of PFD in commercial citrus‐growing areas to better understand the disease spread. Experiments were carried out in three young orchards (500 trees each) in two municipalities in Sao Paulo State, Brazil. Symptoms of PFD on the flowers and presence of persistent calyces were assessed in each of three orchards for three years. Logistic, Gompertz and monomolecular models were fitted to the incidence data over time from the trees with symptoms. The spatial pattern of diseased trees was characterized by a dispersion index and by Taylor′s power law. An autologistic model was used for the spatiotemporal analysis. The logistic model provided the best fit to the disease incidence data, which had a fast progress rate of 0·53 per day. During the early epidemic of PFD, the spatial pattern of diseased trees was random, which suggested that inoculum spread was due to mechanisms other than rain splash. As the disease incidence increased (up to 12·6%), the spatial pattern of diseased trees became aggregated. The rapid rate of disease progress and the distribution of PFD suggest that dispersal of the pathogen is possibly related to a mechanism other than splash dispersal, which is more typical of other fruit diseases caused by Colletotrichum spp.     

柑桔黄龙病综合防治研究

实施以采用无病种苗和田间防疫为中心的柑桔黄龙病综合防治技术,在新区两项措施并举,现树龄已９￣１４年生,仍然健康高产,每ｈｍ＾２产量达３２６００ｋｇ,田间保持既无黄龙病株,亦无柑桔木虱,对病区仅施行“田间防疫”,也能压低田间病株率和控制田间传染,维持果园效益。     

Effect of cultural practices on the development of arabica coffee berry disease,caused by <Emphasis Type="Italic">Colletotrichum kahawae</Emphasis>

In the high altitude regions of Africa, coffee berry disease (CBD), caused by Colletotrichum kahawae, is the main constraint for arabica coffee (Coffea arabica) production. However, certain agricultural practices can reduce losses caused by the disease and thereby promote optimum production. On small family farms in Cameroon, mixed cropping with fruit trees, intercropping with food crops and maintenance pruning of coffee trees are very widespread agricultural practices that can affect CBD epidemics. Consequently, an epidemiological study was conducted to assess how cultural practices affected the disease in an arabica coffee smallholding in Cameroon. The disease was monitored on a weekly basis over four successive years (2002–2005) on coffee trees in diverse cultural situations. Cultural practices likely to reduce losses due to CBD were identified. The infection rate was significantly lower on coffee trees grown intensively than on coffee trees grown in the traditional manner. Coffee trees located under the shade of fruit trees were significantly less attacked than those located in full sunlight. In addition, berries on the leafless parts of branches, near the main trunk of the coffee tree, were less infected than those on leafy sections. These results show that maintenance pruning, removal of mummified berries, and mixed cropping with shade plants are cultural practices which create environmental conditions that limit CBD development.     

The Distribution and Spread of Sorghum Downy Mildew in Sorghum and Maize Fields in Nigeria and Zimbabwe

Sorghum downy mildew (Peronosclerospora sorghi, SDM) is a damaging disease of sorghum and maize crops in Africa. Runs analysis was used to study the distribution of systemically infected sorghum and maize plants in Nigeria and Zimbabwe. The temporal and spatial development of local lesions of SDM on sorghum in Zimbabwe was investigated by assessing the local lesion symptoms caused by conidia in plots with a single point source of inoculum. With ordinary runs analysis, there was evidence of clustering of disease in some fields in the humid areas of Nigeria and the semi-arid areas of Nigeria and Zimbabwe. Clustering was found in two of the eight runs analyses performed on maize in the humid south of Nigeria, and in only one of the eight runs in Zimbabwe, which was interpreted as a predominance of random infection at the time of assessment and at the spatial scales assessed. Symptoms of local lesions of SDM developed rapidly across plots from an introduced point source of infection. After 9 days-exposure to the source of inoculum, the incidence of diseased leaves was 1.2%, and after 50 days it was 74.5%. A disease gradient which initially developed flattened as the plot became uniformly diseased. The predominant wind direction was NNE, and most rapid spread of disease was towards the SSW and WSW. In conclusion, local lesions can spread rapidly in sorghum crops, suggesting that they may be an important source of conidial inoculum for further local and systemic infections during the growing season.     

Bacterial wilt of bellflower caused by Ralstonia solanacearum in Japan

A sudden wilt of bellflower (Campanula lactiflora) was observed in Japan in 1997. A bacterium that formed white fluidal and mucoid colonies resembling those of Ralstonia solanacearum was isolated from the infected plants. The bacterium was bacteriologically identified as biovar 3 of R. solanacearum. This is the first report of R. solanacearum affecting a plant species of the Campanulaceae family.     

云杉矮槲寄生的侵染对青杄光合与蒸腾作用的影响

 云杉矮槲寄生(Arceuthobium sichuanense)属半寄生性多年生种子植物,是青海省云杉天然林毁灭性生物灾害之一。本研究首次报道了云杉矮槲寄生在自然条件下可以侵染青杄,并对健康与染病青杄(Picea wilsonii)针叶形态及其光合日变化进行了测定。结果表明:1)染病青杄的针叶长度和宽度显著小于健康青杄(P＜0.001),而染病青杄的针叶比叶面积(SLA)显著大于健康青杄(P＜0.001);2)云杉矮槲寄生的侵染显著降低了青杄叶片的净光合速率、蒸腾速率以及气孔导度(P＜0.05),但不影响其胞间CO₂浓度(P =0.32);3)冗余分析(RDA)表明,云杉矮槲寄生的侵染导致青杄对不同环境因子的依赖程度发生变化,健康青杄表现为环境CO₂浓度(CO₂)＞空气温度(T_air)＞叶片温度(T_l)＞蒸汽压亏缺(Vpd)＞空气相对湿度(RH)＞光合有效辐射(PAR),而染病青杄则出现T_l＞RH＞T_air＞PAR＞Vpd＞CO₂,且T_l成为影响染病青杄叶片光合与蒸腾作用(P_n、T_r)的主要环境因子,且染病青杄对RH和PAR变化的响应更加敏感。此外,染病青杄叶片的水分利用率(WUE)显著低于健康寄主(P＜0.05)。因此,云杉矮槲寄生的侵染可降低青杄对环境的适应能力,从而加速寄主的衰老死亡。     

柑橘溃疡病菌的侵染过程及噻森铜对溃疡病的防治效果

为高效精准防治柑橘溃疡病,本研究对不同成熟度柑橘叶片接种溃疡病菌Xanthomonas citri subsp.cirri后的发病情况进行观察,并在显微镜下观察溃疡病菌侵染叶片的过程,并对不同浓度、不同施用方法下噻森铜的室内防治效果和田间防治效果进行测定,对施用噻森铜后土壤、叶片和果实中的残留进行测定.结果 表明,溃疡...     

The role of seedling infection in epiphytotics of ascochyta blight on chickpea

Didymella rabiei, the causal agent of ascochyta blight, survives on infected seeds and seedlings. Diseased seedlings originating from infected seeds occasionally serve as the source for primary infection in chickpea crops. Experiments carried out independently in Australia and in Israel provided quantitative information on the temporal and spatial distribution of ascochyta blight from initial infections and on the relationship between the amount of initial infection and the intensity of subsequent epiphytotics for cultivars differing in susceptibility to the pathogen. Disease spread over short distances (<10 m) from individual primary infections, was governed by rain and wind, and was up to five times greater down-wind than up-wind. Cultivar response to D. rabiei significantly affected the distance and area over which disease spread and the intensity of the disease on infected plants. At onset of the epiphytotic, the relationship between disease spread and time was exponential (P < 0.05; R ² > 0.95) and the area of the resulting foci was over 10 times greater in susceptible cultivars than in resistant cultivars. Regression equations showed the relationship between disease severity and the distance from the focus-plants was inverse-linear for all cultivars tested (P < 0.05). A simulation model based on the experimental data revealed that even if primary infection is infrequent (less than 1% of plants), the consequences are potentially devastating when susceptible cultivars are used. The epidemiological information and simulation model generated by this study provide an increased understanding of the development of an epiphytotic in which the primary foci of disease originate from infected chickpea seedlings.     

A novel pathosystem to study the interactions between <Emphasis Type="Italic">Lotus japonicus</Emphasis> and <Emphasis Type="Italic">Fusarium solani</Emphasis>

A wilt disease of the model legume Lotus japonicus was observed in a greenhouse in Tokyo, Japan in May 2004. Roots of diseased plants were rotted and dark brown with lesions spreading to lower stems and leaves, resulting in rapid plant death. The causal agent was identified as Fusarium solani based on the morphology. Sequence analysis of rDNA supported the identification. Inoculation of roots of healthy plants with conidia reproduced characteristic disease symptoms, and F. solani was reisolated from lesions, satisfying Koch’s postulates. The isolate also caused chlorotic to necrotic lesions on leaves of healthy plants after wound-inoculation. Infection by F. solani of leaves of L. japonicus was confirmed histologically. Mycelia were observed in the intercellular spaces of parenchymatous tissues in the lesion area and the surrounding tissues. This is the first report of fungal disease on L. japonicus satisfying Koch’s postulates. We named it “Fusarium root rot of L. japonicus” as a new disease. The compatibility of L. japonicus and F. solani is expected to form a novel pathosystem for studying interactions between legumes and fungal pathogens. The nucleotide sequence data reported are available in the DDBJ/EMBL/GenBank databases under accession numbers AB258993 and AB258994.     

Sudden Oak Death, A New Forest Disease in California

A forest disease caused by a newly described pathogen, Phytophthora ramorum, is presently affecting a number of woody plant species in central and northern coastal California and southern Oregon, U.S.A. Among the most severely affected tree species are coast live oak, Quercus agrifolia, and tanoak, Lithocarpus densiflorus. In March 2000, we established plots in Marin County, CA, to assess symptom progression and the association of other organisms with diseased trees. Symptomatic trees exhibit 'bleeding' of viscous sap from apparently intact bark, typically within approximately 2 m of the soil. At least three species of bark and ambrosia beetles colonize bleeding oaks. These beetles colonized every bleeding tree that died during the first year of the study (N = 23) while the foliage was still green. By March 2001, numbers of symptomatic and dead trees increased for both coast live oak and tanoak. Symptomatic coast live oaks totaled 26% in March 2000 and 27% in March 2001. During the same period, mortality increased from 6% to 10%. For tanoaks, 41% were symptomatic in 2000, rising to 49% in 2001. Mortality was 11% in 2000 and 13% in 2001. The values for coast live oak are broadly consistent with independently acquired infection and mortality estimates derived from an unbiased transect method.     

西兰花轮作及其残体还田对土壤中病原菌微菌核数量、黄萎病发生及马铃薯产量的影响

为明确西兰花轮作及其残体还田对土壤中病原菌大丽轮枝菌Verticillium dahliae微菌核数量、马铃薯黄萎病发生以及马铃薯产量的影响,分别于2017-2018年和2018-2019年在内蒙古自治区乌兰察布市凉城县岱海镇元山子农场人工病圃和锡林郭勒盟正蓝旗上都镇菜园村自然病圃开展田间试验,利用NP-10培养基测定不同处理土壤中的大丽轮枝菌微菌核数量,并对马铃薯地上叶片和地下块茎上黄萎病的发病率、病情指数以及马铃薯总产量和商品薯产量进行调查。结果显示,以马铃薯连作方式为对照,西兰花轮作及其残体还田后土壤中大丽轮枝菌微菌核的数量明显减少,其中在人工病圃于7、8和9月调查时分别降低了8.46%、36.41%和36.27%,在自然病圃于7、8和9月调查时则分别降低了7.22%、38.06%和48.84%;马铃薯地上叶片和地下块茎上黄萎病的发病率和病情指数均显著降低,在人工病圃对黄萎病的防效为32.91%和54.82%,在自然病圃对黄萎病的防效为46.72%和34.78%;马铃薯总产量和商品薯产量均有所提高,在人工病圃分别增产27.74%和40.08%,在自然病圃分别增产7.12%和8.77%。表明西兰花作为理想的轮作作物可应用于马铃薯黄萎病的有效防控。     

几种松树松材线虫病木和健木pH值差异的研究

 对江苏、安徽2疫区的黑松、赤松、马尾松、火炬松、湿地松等5个树种松材线虫病Bursaphelenchus xylophilus的病、健木pH值差异性分析结果表明:感病品种黑松、赤松、马尾松病木pH值降低,且差异显著;较抗病的湿地松虽然也降低,但差异不显著;抗病性强的火炬松病木pH值反而高于健木,且差异显著。由此可见,不同松树品种松材线虫病的病、健木pH值的差异性也不同,对松材线虫越敏感和受害越严重的,其病木pH值降低的就越多,与健木pH值差异就越显著。该分析结果初步为我国松材线虫为害比较严重的几种主要松树品种,利用指示剂进行松材线虫病快速检测的可行性提供了一个依据。     

A simulation of the effects of early eradication of nematode infected trees on spread of pine wilt disease

Pine wilt disease is currently among the most devastating pine tree plagues on earth. It is caused by the pinewood nematode Bursaphelenchus xylophilus in a perfect and well synchronized mutualistic relationship with beetles of the genus Monochamus. The disease has a fast and efficient mode of spread, which makes most of the efforts to control it practically insufficient. We investigate how early eradication of infected pine trees, i.e. eradication of trees which just ceased oleoresin exudation, may affect disease spread. In contrast to the sole eradication of killed trees, our results show that under an appropriate combination of eradication strategies: (1) there is a significant increase in the minimum pine density below which the disease fails to invade; (2) the region where reproductive Allee effects may take place are significantly enlarged. We implement optimal strategies for eradication through stochastic search optimization techniques, and conclude that disease extinction can be reached faster with an appropriate combination of eradication measures, minimizing the damage on healthy pine trees and operational costs.     

Root and stem rot of chrysanthemum caused by five <Emphasis Type="Italic">Pythium</Emphasis> species in Japan

Root and stem rot with wilt of above ground parts of cultivated chrysanthemums was first found in Ibaraki, Toyama and Kagawa prefectures, Japan in 2002 and 2003. Pythium species were isolated from the diseased tissues and identified as P. dissotocum, P. oedochilum, P. sylvaticum, P. ultimum var. ultimum and asexual strains of P. helicoides based on their morphologies and sequences of rDNA-ITS region. All the Pythium species were strongly pathogenic to chrysanthemums in pot conditions and were reisolated from the inoculated plants. Because Pythium root and stem rot of chrysanthemum has never been reported in Japan, we propose that this is a new disease that can be caused by the five Pythium species.     

香蕉枯萎病田间发病株的高效灭菌方法筛选

为筛选有效防控香蕉枯萎病菌扩散蔓延的灭菌方法,采用含毒介质培养法测定咪鲜胺和多菌灵不同配比对枯萎病菌的毒力作用以筛选最佳混配液,比较最佳混配液与生石灰、草甘膦、咪鲜胺的平板抑菌和大田灭菌效果,并研究了大田不同施用方式对最佳混配液灭菌效果的影响。结果表明,咪鲜胺与多菌灵体积比为10∶1时得最佳混配液,可显著提高对香蕉枯萎病菌的抑制效果,增效系数为1.53,EC50值最小,为0.025 mg/L;4种药剂的EC50值由大到小为草甘膦生石灰咪鲜胺最佳混配液。1 000 mg/L最佳混配液喷施于大田病株5 d后根际土壤病菌含量下降了95.93%,10 d后球茎病菌含量减少了71.88%,综合灭菌效果显著优于其它处理。此外,应用打孔灌药法可显著提高最佳混配液对大田病株的灭菌效果,施用5 d后球茎病菌含量减少了95.95%。表明以打孔灌药法施用1 000 mg/L最佳混配液灭菌效果显著且操作便捷,易于推广应用。     

Incidence of Verticillium wilt of artichoke in eastern Spain and role of inoculum sources on crop infection

Surveys of 94 artichoke fields throughout the artichoke production areas of Comunidad Valenciana (eastern Spain) were conducted from 1999 to 2002 to determine the incidence and distribution of Verticillium wilt.Verticillium dahliae was isolated from 80.9% of the sampled fields, and detected in all artichoke-growing areas, with a mean disease incidence of 53.8% infected plants. The disease was found to cause severe damage to cv. ‘Blanca de Tudela’, which is the most important artichoke cultivar grown in Spain, and was also observed on the seed-propagated cv. ‘Imperial Star’. In field trials to study the role of infected planting material and soil inoculum on infection of artichoke plants during the cropping season,V. dahliae was transmitted from infected stumps to the plants, confirming that the use of infected stumps could have greatly contributed to the dissemination of the pathogen. Inoculum density ofV. dahliae in soil had an effect on crop infection, in that a higher number of microsclerotia per gram of soil resulted in a higher percentage of infected plants. In addition, yield of cv. Blanca de Tudela was significantly affected byV. dahliae infection, showing that a higher percentage of infection corresponded with lower yield. http://www.phytoparasitica.org posting July 21, 2005.     

Spatiotemporal analysis of spread of infections by Verticillium dahliae pathotypes within a high tree density olive orchard in southern Spain

The development of Verticillium wilt epidemics in olive cv. Arbequina was studied from November 1999 to May 2003 in a drip-irrigated, nontillage orchard established in a soil without a history of the disease at Córdoba, southern Spain. Disease incidence measured at 1-month-intervals increased from 0.2 to 7.8% during this period. Verticillium dahliae infecting the trees was characterized as defoliating (D) or nondefoliating (ND) pathotypes by a specific, multiplex-polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay. Of the symptomatic trees, 87.2 and 12.8% were infected by the D or ND pathotypes, respectively. Dynamics of disease incidence were described by a generalized logistic model with a multiple sigmoid pattern. In the fitted model, the infection rate was highest in the winter to spring period and decreased to minimum values in the summer to fall period. Binary data of disease incidence was analyzed for point pattern and spatial correlation, either directly or after parsing them in contiguous quadrats. Overall, ordinary runs analysis indicated a departure from randomness of disease within rows. The binomial index of dispersion, interclass correlation, and Taylor's power law for various quadrat sizes suggested aggregation of diseased trees within the quadrat sizes tested. Spatial analysis by distance indices showed a nonrandom arrangement of quadrats containing infected trees. Spatial pattern was characterized by the occurrence of several clusters of infected trees. Increasing clustering over time was generally suggested by stronger values of clustering index over time and by the increase in the size of patch clusters. Significant spatial association was found in the clustering of diseased trees over time across cropping seasons; however, clustering was significant only for infections by D V. dahliae, indicating that infections by the D pathotype were aggregated around initial infections. The number and size of clusters of D V. dahliae-infected trees increased over time. Microsatellite-primed PCR assays of a representative number of V. dahliae isolates from diseased trees indicated that the majority of infecting D isolates shared the fingerprinting profile with D V. dahliae isolated from soil of a naturally infested cotton field in close proximity to the orchard, suggesting that short distance dispersal of the pathogen from this soil to the olive orchard may have occurred.