Summer heat and low soil organic matter influence severity of hazelnut Cytospora canker

Cytospora canker, caused by the fungus Cytospora corylicola, is present in hazelnut production areas worldwide. The disease is widespread throughout the main production areas of Italy. The causal agent is considered to be a secondary invader of damaged tissue that attacks mainly stressed plants. How...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Phytopathology 2014-04, Vol.104 (4), p.387-395
Main Authors: Lamichhane, Jay Ram, Fabi, Alfredo, Varvaro, Leonardo
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Ascomycota - pathogenicity
Ascomycota - physiology
Carbon - analysis
Climate
Corylus
Corylus - microbiology
Cytospora
Environment
Hot Temperature
Life Sciences
Nitrogen - analysis
Plant Diseases - microbiology
Regression Analysis
Seasons
Soil - chemistry
Time Factors
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Summary:Cytospora canker, caused by the fungus Cytospora corylicola, is present in hazelnut production areas worldwide. The disease is widespread throughout the main production areas of Italy. The causal agent is considered to be a secondary invader of damaged tissue that attacks mainly stressed plants. However, little is known of disease severity and stress factors that predispose plants to infection. In particular, the role of pedoclimatic factors was investigated. Direct survey indicated that disease severity varied across several study sites. Geostatistics showed a strong positive correlation between disease severity index and summer heat (r = 0.80 and 0.91 for July and August, respectively) and strong negative correlation between disease severity index and soil organic matter (r = -0.78). A moderate positive correlation between disease severity index and magnesium/potassium ratio (r = 0.58) and moderate negative correlations between disease severity index and total soil nitrogen (r = -0.53), thermal shock (r = -0.46), and rainfall (r = -0.53) were determined. No significant correlation between disease severity index and soil aluminum (r = -0.35), soil pH (r = -0.01), and plant age (r = -0.38) was found.
ISSN:0031-949X
1943-7684
0031-949X
DOI:10.1094/PHYTO-05-13-0136-R