OVERWINTERING OF ERWINIA AMYLOVORA IN NATURALLY AND ARTIFICIALLY INFECTED APPLE SHOOTS

Erwinia amylovora was detected in canker margin tissue of all shoots collected in the late autumn from naturally infected ‘Gloster’ and ‘Elstar’ apple trees.
However, the next spring the pathogen was found in about 70 percent of shoots collected from the same trees.
In more than half of those shoots it was only possible to detect bacteria using a PCR-based method.
The survival and systemic spread of E. amylovora in artificially inoculated apple shoots was influenced by treatment with a benzothiadiazole derivative (Bion). The pathogen was not detected in any of the treated shoots, whereas it was recovered from all untreated shoots.
Moreover, the detection of bacteria in the tissue distant from canker margins was possible in a smaller number of shoots from trees treated with Bion when compared to untreated trees, and again only using a PCR-based method.

IX International Workshop on Fire Blight

K. Kielak, P. Sobiczewski, J. Pulawska

fire blight, Erwinia amylovora, overwintering, apple, SAR induction, PCR-detection

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2002.590.22