Modeling Cold Curing of Pierce's Disease in Vitis vinifera ‘Pinot Noir’ and ‘Cabernet Sauvignon’ Grapevines in California

• Published in: Phytopathology 2011-12, Vol.101 (12), p.1492-1500
• Main Authors: Lieth, J.H, Meyer, M.M, Yeo, K.H, Kirkpatrick, B.C
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: bacteria; Biological and medical sciences; California; cold; Cold Temperature; cultivars; disease control; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; host plants; host range; mathematical models; Microbial Viability; Models, Biological; pathogens; Phytopathology. Animal pests. Plant and forest protection; Pierce's disease; Plant Diseases - microbiology; Plant Diseases - therapy; plant tissues; prediction; relative risk; Seasons; simulation models; temperature; therapeutics; Time Factors; vineyards; Vitaceae; Vitis - microbiology; Vitis vinifera; Xylella - physiology; Xylella fastidiosa
• ISSN: 0031-949X; 1943-7684
• DOI: 10.1094/PHYTO-08-10-0207

Pierce's disease (PD) of Vitis vinifera grapevines is caused by the bacterium Xylella fastidiosa, a pathogen with a wide plant host range. Exposure of X. fastidiosa-infected plant tissue to cold temperatures has been shown to be effective at eliminating the pathogen from some plant hosts such as grapevines. This "cold curing" phenomenon suggests itself as a potential method for disease management and perhaps control. We investigated cold therapy of PD-affected 'Pinot Noir' and 'Cabernet Sauvignon' grapevine. In the fall, inoculated plants and controls of each cultivar were transported to each of four field sites in California (Foresthill, McLaughlin, Hopland, and Davis) that differed in the magnitude of cold winter temperatures. A model for progression of the elimination of plant disease in relation to temperature was conceptualized to be a temperature-duration effect, where temperatures below a particular threshold kill X. fastidiosa with increasing efficacy as the temperature decreases to some value