First Report of Pythium indigoferae and P. irregulare Associated to Apple Trees Decline in Tunisia |
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| Authors: | Mounira Souli Naima Boughalleb Paloma Abad‐Campos Luis Armando Á lvarez Ana Pérez‐Sierra Josep Armengol José García‐Jiménez |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Authors’ addresses: Institut Supérieur Agronomique de Chott Mariem, Département des Sciences Biologiques et de la Protection des Plantes, 4042 Sousse, Tunisia;2. Instituto Agroforestal Mediterráneo, Universidad Politécnica de Valencia, Camino de Vera s/n, 46022 Valencia, Spain;3. Departamento de Sanidad Vegetal, Universidad Nacional San Luis Gonzaga de Ica, Perú, Facultad de Agronomía, altura km 299 Panamericana Sur, Ica, Perú (correspondence to N. Boughalleb. E‐mail: n.boughalleb@laposte.net) |
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| Abstract: | Pythium indigoferae and Pythium irregulare, identified based on morphological and physiological characteristics, were isolated from necrotic roots, crown tissues and the rhizosphere of apple trees in Tunisia from 23 apple orchards in spring and autumn 2007–2009. The virulence assays on excised twigs, using different Pythium species isolated demonstrated that these oomycetes were pathogenic on the Anna, Lorka and Meski varieties and the MM106 rootstock. However, the biggest lesion area was noted on MM106 rootstock. Thus, it appeared that this rootstock is more susceptible to Pythium infections than Anna, Meski and Lorka apple varieties. Furthermore, it is important to note that in vitro tests showed that P. indigoferae seems to be more virulent than P. irregulare. |
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| Keywords: | apple orchards surveys morphological characterization sequencing pathogenicity assays |
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