Tumours of Begonia and some other ornamentals,induced by Corynebacterium fascians

In 1975 many tumours were observed in plants ofBegonia Schwabenland grown in Aalsmeer. Submersion of the roots ofNicotiana megalosiphon seedlings in a homogenate of tumorous tissue, induced tumours after two weeks. Short periods of submergence yielded results similar to those obtained after longer periods. Tumour homogenates lost their infectivity after ten min at 50°C. Aphids transmitted the infectious agent.Treatment with propylene oxide did not inhibit infectivity completely. Filtration through a 450 nm filter removed the infectious agent.Tobacco tumor virus or a viroid could not be isolated. Cultures ofCorynebacterium fascians, isolated from tumours ofN. megalosiphon were highly infectious and induced tumours in healthyN. megalosiphon andBegonia. Tumorous tissue homogenates ofPelargonium zonale, Dahlia sp.,Gladiolus sp., andLilium sp. also caused tumours inN. megalosiphon, from whichC. fascians was isolated. It was not possible to produce tumours inN. megalosiphon with homogenates from roses with symptoms of bud proliferation.Samenvatting In 1975 werden vele tumoren waargenomen inBegonia Schwabenland op Aalsmeerse bedrijven (Fig. 1). De infectiositeit van tumorweefsel kon goed en snel worden vastgesteld door de wortels van zaailingen vanNicotiana megalosiphon in een homogenaat van tumorweefsel te dompelen. Tumoren ontstonden na twee weken, de eindbeoordeling geschiedde na een maand (Fig. 2). Ook verschillende andereNicotiana spp.,Melilotus officinalis (Fig. 3) enPisum odoratum (Fig. 4) werden aangetast.Bij de infectiositeitstoets gaven zeer korte dompeltijden even goede resultaten als langere (Tabel 1). Infectieus sap verloor zijn infectievermogen na 10 min verhitting bij 50°C. Bladluizen brachten de smetstof over. Propyleenoxide verminderde de infectiositeit wel, doch onderdrukte deze niet totaal. Bij filtratie door een 450 nm filter bleef het infectieuse agens op het filter achter. Het tumor-inducerende agens was ook aanwezig in die delen van planten met tumoren welke gezond leken en het ging voor een gering deel over met zaad (Tabel 2).Uit tumoren konden wij geen tabakstumorvirus of een viroïde isoleren. Culturen vanCorynebacterium fascians, geïsoleerd uit tumoren vanN. megalosiphon bleken zeer infectieus en veroorzaakten tumoren inN. megalosiphon enBegonia. Homogenaten van tumorweefsel vanPelargonium zonale, dahlia (Fig. 5), gladiool (Fig. 6) enLilium Mid Century Hybrid Enchantment (Fig. 7) veroorzaakten ook tumoren opN. megalosiphon, waaruitC. fascians werd geïsoleerd. Met sap van kroeskopzieke rozen konden wijN. megalosiphon niet besmetten.     

Plant Viruses Transmitted by Whiteflies

One-hundred and fourteen virus species are transmitted by whiteflies (family Aleyrodidae). Bemisia tabaci transmits 111 of these species while Trialeurodes vaporariorum and T. abutilonia transmit three species each. B. tabaci and T. vaporariorum are present in the European–Mediterranean region, though the former is restricted in its distribution. Of the whitefly-transmitted virus species, 90% belong to the Begomovirus genus, 6% to the Crinivirus genus and the remaining 4% are in the Closterovirus, Ipomovirus or Carlavirus genera. Other named, whitefly-transmitted viruses that have not yet been ranked as species are also documented. The names, abbreviations and synonyms of the whitefly-transmitted viruses are presented in tabulated form together with details of their whitefly vectors, natural hosts and distribution. Entries are also annotated with references. Whitefly-transmitted viruses affecting plants in the European–Mediterranean region have been highlighted in the text.     

Epidemiology and simulation of population development of Sitobion avenae in winter wheat

The epidemiology ofSitobion avenae and its natural enemies in winter wheat was studied in 1975, 1976 and 1977. Immigration was important until the end of flowering. The alate immigrants had apterous offspring. These became the driving force in population growth. Their offspring were mostly alatae which usually left the field. A model of the epidemic was developed. Quantitative relations between the aphids and their environment were obtained from literature or established in laboratory trials. The model simulated population development and population composition from the beginning of June till the population peak at the end of June or early in July. Because quantitative data on relations between aphids and their natural enemies and pathogens are scarce, and since the knowledge on wing formation is still limited, the population collapse could not be predicted. In the future, prognosis over a period of three weeks seems possible.Samenvatting De toenemende betekenis van graanbladluizen (vooralSitobion avenae) gepaard gaande met een sterke toename van het gebruik van insecticiden op granen maakte verbetering van de prognose over het schadelijk optreden wenselijk. Door gedetailleerde tellingen in het veld (Fig. 1–7) werden gegevens verkregen over het verloop van de epidemie en het optreden van natuurlijke vijanden in 1975, 1976 en 1977.Een immigratieperiode tot in de bloei kon worden vastgesteld. Daarna lijkt de aantrekkelijkheid van het gewas voor alate luizen te verminderen. De alate immigranten krijgen aptere nakomelingen. Deze vormen de stuwende kracht van de populatiegroei. De nakomelingen van apteren zijn merendeels alaat. Zij verlaten het gewas.Een model van de populatieontwikkeling gedurende de epidemie werd opgesteld. De relatiediagrammen Fig. 9 en 10 laten groei en ontwikkeling vanS. avenae en een predator (Syrphus corollae) zien. Kwantificering van de betrekkingen werd mogelijk door literatuurgegevens en laboratoriumexperimenten.Met het model kon de populatieontwikkeling vanS. avenae vanaf begin juni tot aan de populatiepiek in 1975, 1976 en 1977 vrij goed worden gesimuleerd (Fig. 12). Ook de populatieopbouw kon worden gesimuleerd (Fig. 14). De teruggang van de populatiedichtheid blijkt moeilijker te voorspellen door het ontbreken van gegevens over natuurlijke vijanden.Het lijkt waarschijnlijk dat in de toekomst met het model een prognose over de piek van de bladluispopulatie circa 3 weken tevoren mogelijk zal zijn.     

Identification,incidence and characterization of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Fusarium proliferatum</Emphasis>on ornamental palms in Spain

During a survey conducted from 1998 to 2002, Fusarium proliferatum was found associated with young and adult palms belonging to the genera Chamaerops, Phoenix, Trachycarpus and Washingtonia showing symptoms of wilt and dieback. The fertility and toxicological profile of 36 strains representing different locations and hosts were studied. All of them except two, which were infertile, belonged to mating population D. Both mating types (MATD-1 and MATD-2) were isolated from the same host species, showing a high potential of genetic recombination in the field. Additionally, eight strains were fertile once crossed as female. Toxin analysis showed differences in the ability of strains to produce fumonisin B₁, moniliformin, beauvericin, fusaric acid and fusaproliferin. Only 17 of them produced all the toxins analyzed. Pathogenicity tests were conducted on Phoenix dactylifera and P. canariensis using nine F. proliferatum Spanish strains and two reference strains from Saudi Arabia. Eight months after inoculation all strains caused disease, with palms showing lesions on the bases of leaves and development of wilt symptoms similar to those originally observed in affected plants. This is the first report on the occurrence of F. proliferatum on P. dactylifera in Spain and also the first report of this pathogen on C. humilis, P. canariensis, P. reclinata, T. fortunei, W. filifera and W. robusta.     

Relationships of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Barley yellow dwarf virus</Emphasis>-PAV and <Emphasis Type="Italic">Cereal yellow dwarf virus</Emphasis>-RPV from Iran with viruses of the family <Emphasis Type="Italic">Luteoviridae</Emphasis>

Barley yellow dwarf disease is one of the most important problems confronting cereal production in Iran. Barley yellow dwarf virus-PAV (BYDV-PAV) and Cereal yellow dwarf virus-RPV (CYDV-RPV) are the predominant viruses associated with the disease. One isolate of BYDV-PAV from wheat (PAV-IR) and one isolate of CYDV-RPV from barley (RPV-IR) were selected for molecular characterisations. A genome segment of each isolate was amplified by PCR. The PAV-IR fragment (1264 nt) covered a region containing partial genes for coat protein (CP), read through protein (RTP) and movement protein (MP). PAV-IR showed a high sequence identity to PAV isolates from USA, France and Japan (96–97%). In a phylogenetic analysis it was placed into PAV group I together with PAV isolates from barley and oats. The fragment of RPV-IR (719 nt) contained partial genes for CP, RTP and MP. The sequence information confirmed its identity as CYDV. However, RPV-IR showed 90–91% identity with both RPV and Cereal yellow dwarf virus-RPS (CYDV-RPS). Phylogenetic analyses suggested that it was more closely related to RPS. These data comprise the first attempt to characterise BYD-causing viruses in Iran and southwest Asia. The nucleotide sequence data reported appear in the EMBL, GenBank and DDBJ Nucleotide Sequence Databases under the accession numbers AY450425 and AY450454     

A new <Emphasis Type="Italic">Rhizoctonia</Emphasis> sp. closely related to <Emphasis Type="Italic">Waitea circinata</Emphasis> causes a new disease of creeping bentgrass

Isolates of an unidentified Rhizoctonia sp. (UR isolates) were obtained from creeping bentgrass and Kentucky bluegrass with reddish brown sheath and foliar rots. Because the UR isolates anastomosed with isolates of three varieties of Waitea circinata (var. oryzae, var. zeae, and var. circinata), colony morphology, hyphal growth rate at different temperatures, pathogenicity, sequence analysis of the internal transcribed spacers (ITS) region of ribosomal RNA genes (rDNA) were compared. The colony color of mature UR isolates was distinct from isolates of the other three varieties of W. circinata. In pathogenicity tests on creeping bentgrass, the severity of the disease caused by UR isolates was significantly higher than that caused by the three varieties of W. circinata. Sequence similarities of the rDNA-ITS region between UR isolates and between isolates within each variety were high (97–100%), but they were lower among isolates from UR and the varieties of W. circinata (88–94%). In a phylogenetic tree based on the rDNA-ITS sequences, UR isolates formed a cluster separate from each of the clusters formed by the three varieties of W. circinata. These results indicate that the UR isolates clearly differ from the three varieties of W. circinata. We therefore propose that the UR isolates be classified as new Rhizoctonia sp. that are closely related to W. circinata and that the disease on creeping bentgrass should be called Waitea reddish-brown patch disease (Sekikasshoku-hagusare-byo in Japanese).     

Recent observations on leafy gall in Liliaceae and some other families

Corynebacterium fascians, which causes leafy gall, has been shown to be responsible for the unusual symptoms recently found in lilies. The symptoms are described and the different bacterial isolates compared by biochemical, serological and pathogenicity experiments. No evidence could be found for the existence of specialized strains even though considerable variation in virulence could be demonstrated. Although the role of variation in susceptibility of the different lily cultivars should not be underestimated, it would appear that high inoculum levels ofC. fascians in the soil may be largely responsible for these outbreaks.Also included in this study are the results of biochemical, serological and pathogenicity experiments ofC. fascians which has been isolated fromKalanchoe, Euphorbia, Brodiaea, Hebe andVerbascum.Samenvatting Reeds een aantal jaren was in lelies een woekering in stengelbollen bekend, die echter sporadisch voorkwam en economisch van weinig betekenis was. Tijdens de zomer van 1977 echter trad de ziekte op één enkel perceel zo ernstig op dat zeer aanzienlijke oogstderving het gevolg was. Behalve de stengelbol kan ook de hoofdbol misvormd zijn. Bovendien kunnen misvormde stengelbollen lange spruiten vormen, zgn. sabeltandvorming. Soms is het wortelstelsel gereduceerd; in de kas zijn verdikte stengels waargenomen. De ziekte staat nu bekend onder de naam woekerziekte.Door de PD te Wageningen en het LBO te Lisse werd de bacterieCorynebacterium fascians (Tilford) Dows. uit het zieke materiaal geïsoleerd. In gezamenlijk onderzoek werd nagegaan of de bacterie de veroorzaker is van bovengenoemde symptomen en of hier sprake is van een op lelie gespecialiseerde stam.Biochemische en serologische vergelijkingen tussen isolaten vanC. fascians uit lelie,Kalanchoe, Euphorbia, Brodiaeea, Hebe enVerbascum laten zien dat er zeer weinig verschillen bestaan. Alle isolaten reageren op een standaard antiserum met titers variërend tussen 1: 640–1: 5120.Een oriënterende inoculatieproef werd uitgevoerd op het LBO in 1977. Daarna werden op de PD 10 van de 25 isolaten uit lelie en 8 uit andere waardplanten getoetst op lelie, chrysant en lathyrus. Uit de inoculatieproeven blijkt, dat de bacterie de veroorzaker is van de waargenomen symptomen. Tussen de isolaten blijkt een groot verschil in pathogeniteit te bestaan (12–100% aantasting), zonder dat dit aan herkomst gebonden is. Het voorkomen van op lelie of andere waardplanten gespecialiseerde stammen is daarom niet aan te nemen.In hoeverre de hevige aantasting een gevolg is van een opbouw van de bacterie-populatie door een te nauwe vruchtwisseling en mechanische rooimethoden moet worden nagegaan.     

Nematicidal Activity of Chrysanthemum coronarium

Organic amendments and green manure are potential alternatives to the harmful chemical control means currently used against plant-parasitic nematodes. In this work, Chrysanthemum coronarium was applied to the soil as a green manure to control the root-knot nematodes Meloidogyne incognita and M. javanica. Chrysanthemum coronarium significantly reduced nematode infection of tomato roots and improved plant-top fresh weight, both in the greenhouse and in microplots. Other green manures, derived from Anthemis pseudocotula, wild chickpea (Cicer pinnatifidum), Geranium spp. and wheat, were not as effective as C. coronarium. Chrysanthemum coronarium, retained its nematicidal activity even when applied as a dried material. Only mature C. coronarium plants, in their flowering stage, exhibited nematode control activity, but the green plant parts were more effective than the flowers. An aqueous extract of C. coronarium exhibited in vitro, nematostatic activity towards M. incognita and M. javanica second-stage juveniles and inhibited their hatching from eggs and egg-masses; its nematostatic activity was expressed also against other phytonematode species such as Heterodera avenae and Pratylenchus mediterraneus, but did not affect the beneficial entomopathogenic nematode Steinernema feltiae.     

Broad bean mottle virus in Morocco; curculionid vectors,and natural occurrence in food legumes other than faba bean (Vicia faba)

Broad bean mottle virus (BBMV) was transmitted from infected to healthy faba-bean plants by the curculionid weevilsApion radiolus Kirby,Hypera variabilis Herbst,Pachytychius strumarius Gyll,Smicronyx cyaneus Gyll, andSitona lineatus L. The latter appeared to be an efficient vector: acquisition and inoculation occurred at the first bite, the rate of transmission was c. 41%, and virus retention lasted for at least seven days.S. lineatus transmitted the virus from faba bean to lentil and pea, but not to the three genotypes of chickpea tested. This is the first report on the generaHypera, Pachytychius, andSmicronyx as virus vectors, and onA. radiolus, H. variabilis, P. strumarius, andS. cyaneus as vectors of BBMV.Out of 351 samples of food legumes with symptoms suggestive of virus infection, 16, 11, 19, and 17% of the samples of chickpea, lentil, pea, and common bean, respectively, were found infected when tested for BBMV in DAS-ELISA. This is the first report on the natural occurrence of BBMV in chickpea, lentil, pea, and common bean. The virus should be regarded as a food-legume virus rather than a faba-bean virus solely, and is considered an actual threat to food legume improvement programmes.     

浅黄恩蚜小蜂和丽蚜小蜂对温室白粉虱的寄生潜能分析

浅黄恩蚜小蜂Encarsia sophia GiraultDodd和丽蚜小蜂Encarsia formosa Gahan是防治粉虱类害虫的优势寄生蜂,通过生命表技术方法分析了2种寄生蜂对温室白粉虱Trialeurodes vaporariorum(Westwood)的防治潜能。结果表明,丽蚜小蜂在羽化第3天和第10天出现2次寄生高峰,占其总寄生量的13.7%和8.0%,在2次高峰之间逐日寄生粉虱数量比较平稳,单雌逐日平均产雌数保持在10.6~13.4头,10 d后寄生量呈明显的下降趋势;而浅黄恩蚜小蜂羽化10 d内逐日寄生粉虱量变化不大,单雌逐日产雌数稳定在4.2~5.4头,羽化14 d后寄生量呈明显下降趋势。丽蚜小蜂和浅黄恩蚜小蜂的R0、T、rm、λ值分别为171.5、18.0、0.2854、1.3303和61.6、16.2、0.2544、1.2897;粉虱若虫充足时,丽蚜小蜂平均单雌寄生若虫数是浅黄恩蚜小蜂的2.7倍,而后者平均单雌取食若虫数为60.6头,明显高于前者42.7头,总的来看,丽蚜小蜂通过寄生和取食杀死粉虱总量220.8头,明显高于浅黄恩蚜小蜂的127.9头。表明在应用寄生蜂防治温室白粉虱时,单独释放丽蚜小蜂比浅黄恩蚜小蜂显示出更好的防治潜能。