Botryosphaeria-Related Dieback and Control Investigated in Noncoastal California Grapevines
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RESEARCH ARTICLE ▼ Botryosphaeria-related dieback and control investigated in noncoastal California grapevines by Lynn Epstein, Sukhwinder Kaur and Jean S. VanderGheynst Dieback, or “dead arm,” in noncoastal runk and cordon cankers that cause the ribosomal DNA (called ITS), was California grapevines is most com- vine dieback are serious economic routinely isolated from the margins of monly caused by Botryosphaeria spp. problemsT in vines 12 years and older. cankers in woody tissue in all parts of Using Koch’s postulates, we demon- Vines are infected, at least primarily, the vines. B. dothidea, B. stevensii and through pruning wounds. Historically, E. lata were also occasionally isolated. strated that isolates of B. obtusa are dieback in California vineyards was at- Except for a loss of vigor in shoots pathogenic on grapevines. We initi- tributed to the fungus Eutypa lata, but adjacent to cankered regions, the vines ated studies to investigate the life cy- many of the vines, particularly in the were relatively free of foliar symptoms. cle of B. obtusa and ways to control it Sacramento and San Joaquin valleys, Nonetheless, in springtime some vines are actually infected by fungi in the with multiple dead spurs had de- with cultural practices. Fungal spores genus Botryosphaeria (Urbez-Torres et al. formed, chlorotic (yellow) leaves consis- disseminated by rainstorms were 2006); cankers caused by Botryosphaeria tent with symptoms of Eutypa dieback. collected in traps in an Arbuckle vine- spp. are called “Bot canker.” In all 21 vines with foliar symptoms sampled, only B. obtusa was isolated yard from December 2006 through Signs of disease on grapevines from the margins of discolored woody spring 2007. The data suggests that Between fall 2004 and spring 2007, tissue. B. obtusa was rain-disseminated we monitored ‘Zinfandel’ grapevines B. obtusa pycnidia were observed, throughout winter and spring, and in Arbuckle, Calif., in an approximately generally infrequently and at low den- that pycnidia on deadwood in the 18-year-old vineyard with many dead sity, on the surface of completely dead spurs and cordons (arms of a grape- wood on vines. (Pycnidia are fl ask- vines is a major source of inoculum vine). Our sampling included the exten- shaped structures that contain conidia, for new infections. Transmission sive dissection of 36 vines in decline. which are asexual spores.) In contrast, may also be possible via vegetative There were two predominant signs of pycnidia were observed frequently on disease in woody tissue: a brownish, of- propagation, pruning shears and prunings and detached wood on the ten wedge-shaped necrosis (dead tissue) vineyard fl oor. Individual pycnidia are insects. Durable latex paints were in- in cross-sections of cankered regions, black and approximately 0.01 inch (0.25 vestigated for protecting pruning and and dark brown to blackish streaks in millimeter) in diameter. They are gen- surgical wounds; a self-priming latex longitudinal sections of wood adjacent erally aggregated but sometimes sepa- to pruning wounds. B. obtusa, identi- rate. When fi rst formed, the pycnidia paint was shown to be an effective fi ed by a combination of microscopy are submerged in wood, but as they barrier and was nonphytotoxic. and DNA sequencing of a portion of mature they erupt above the trunk sur- Pycnidia of Botryosphaeria obtusa form on prunings on the vineyard fl oor. Left, B. obtusa pycnidia are primarily clustered in aggregates (white outline) with some separate individual pycnidia (circle). Right, immature pycnidium (IP) are still partially buried in the plant tissue; mature pycnidium (MP) before spore release; and discharged pycnidium (DP). Microscopic examination of spores is required to identify pycnidia as B. obtusa rather than other Botryosphaeria spp. http://CaliforniaAgriculture.ucop.edu • OctOBER–DEcEMBER 2008 161 Stands were used to collect fungal spores disseminated in rainstorms. Left, each stand had a funnel under the cordon for estimating available inoculum within the vine, and a plate on the ground (2.5 inches high by 20 inches wide) at a 45º angle to collect In a pathogenicity test, Botryosphaeria obtusa splash from debris; right, stands also had two tented plates (8 inches high by 12 caused a wedge-shaped lesion. inches wide), which were designed to collect wind-blown rain. face. After conidia are released during to black streaks in a longitudinal sec- vines and constructed plates to collect rainy weather and disseminated via tion. B. obtusa isolates are pathogenic, wind-blown rain. Four replicate spore wind-blown rain, the empty pycnidial and B. obtusa grows more quickly in collectors were placed in each of two cavities remain on the plant surface. woody tissue than E. lata (table 1). Our fields on Dec. 1, 2006, and removed B. obtusa pycnidia were never observed results are in agreement with other on May 8, 2007. In order to inhibit on grape berries, and no sexual spores reports in which B. obtusa and other germination during collection, the of either Botryosphaeria spp. or E. lata Botryosphaeria spp. are identified as im- receptacle bottles contained sufficient were ever observed. portant grapevine pathogens (Leavitt acetic acid for a final concentration of and Munnecke 1987; Phillips 1998, 2002; 12% or more. Rainwater (figs. 1D-G) Pathogenicity of B. obtusa Savocchia et al. 2007; van Niekerk et al. and prunings on the ground (figs. 1B- When we started our work, the liter- 2004, 2006). C) were collected. After rainwater was ature was unclear on whether B. obtusa filtered through membrane filters with Life cycle of B. obtusa in a vineyard isolates are pathogenic or saprophytic grids, conidia were quantified micro- (living on dead tissue). To test for Spore dissemination. Rain is critical scopically at 100×. Weather data were pathogenicity, own-rooted ‘Cabernet in the life cycle of Botryosphaeria spp. obtained from an on-farm monitoring Sauvignon’ with stems approximately at several stages, including the oozing station and the Nickel’s Soil Laboratory 0.7 inch in diameter were inoculated in of conidia out of the pycnidia and then in Arbuckle (fig. 1A). the greenhouse with a disc of fungal the dissemination of conidia in wind- B. obtusa was observed in all rain- mycelium (a mass of fungal hyphae) blown rain. To monitor spores (the re- water collections; other Botryosphaeria into a wound 5 inches above the soil. productive cells) quantitatively in the spp. and E. lata were occasionally ob- After 1 year the plants were examined, vineyard, we used funnels under the served. The most spores were trapped Koch’s postulates were completed and the experiment was repeated with TABLE 1. Pathogenicity of Botryosphaeria obtusa isolates from Arbuckle, Calif. similar results. (Koch’s postulates are a process that allows one to conclude Inoculation* Mean lesion length ± SEM† Replicate isolates that a particular organism causes a inches no. particular disease.) Botryosphaeria obtusa 20 ± 0.8 a 3 The greenhouse pathogenicity test Eutypa lata 14 ± 0.8 b 2 produced the two major symptoms that Mock-inoculated control 7 ± 0.8 c 2 we had observed in the field in infected * ’Cabernet Sauvignon’ own-rooted cuttings were inoculated on June 2, 2005, and examined 1 year later. wood: a brownish, wedge-shaped ne- † Six determinations per isolate and three determinations for each mock-inoculated control, each on a separate vine. The F-test P value = 0.0009. Means followed by the same letter are not significantly different by tukey’s HD, α = 0.05. crosis in a cross-section and brownish 162 CALIFORNIA AGRICULTURE • VOLUME 62, NUMBER 4 2 80 Pycnidia/in : A 1 icon/column = < 5, Immature, below surface 70 2 icons/column = 5–30, and Mature, before release 60 3 icons/column = > 30 pycnidia After spore release 50 B (current prunings) 40 Avg. temp. (ºF) Avg. Dec. 15 pruning 30 ▲ Fig. 1. Biological and meteorological data 1.00 * from a vineyard in Arbuckle, Calif., between 0.75 Dec. 2, 2006 (Julian day −30), and May 8, 2007 C (old prunings and dead wood) (Julian day 128) (Julian dates start with 1 on 0.50 Jan. 1 of each year). (A) Daily precipitation and average air temperature. (B, C) Development Rain (inches) 0.25 and abundance of pycnidia on (B) current 0 prunings (* indicates Dec. 15 pruning); and (C) D (vine drip/sanitation) E (vine drip/no sanitation) old prunings and dead wood on the vineyard 30 floor. Prunings were partially submerged in soil and partially exposed; examinations occurred 25 each day that spores were collected. Icons are not shown on examination dates when 20 there were no changes from the previous date. New pycnidia were produced on older 15 prunings and wood in multiple years. (D–G) Means ± SE of rainstorm-disseminated spores 10 retrieved in various collectors in a field trial Conidia (thousands) with (D, F) surgical removal of deadwood in 5 the vines, painting of all surgical and pruning 0 wounds and sanitation of pruning debris on the ground, and (E, G) without these measures. F (wind-blown/sanitation) G (wind-blown/no sanitation) (D, E) Total number of Botryosphaeria obtusa 50 conidia collected in a 7.25-inch-diameter funnel 2 below the vine. (F, G) Wind-blown B. obtusa 40 conidia collected on plates facing north, south, east and west. 30 Conidia per in 20 in collectors designed for within-vine drip under an infected cordon in a “no 10 sanitation,” area; that is, with neither surgical removal of infected wood, –30 –10 10 30 50 70 90 110 130 –30 –10 10 30 50 70 90 110 130 painting of pruning wounds or burial Julian day Julian day of prunings (fig. 1E). Conidial dis- semination occurred throughout the pruning period and into the springtime conidia also were collected in angled trunks in springtime.