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Assessment of recent outbreaks of Dickeya sp. (syn. Erwinia chrysanthemi) slow wilt in potato crops in Israel

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Abstract

Suspected Dickeya sp. strains were obtained from potato plants and tubers collected from commercial plots. The disease was observed on crops of various cultivars grown from seed tubers imported from the Netherlands during the spring seasons of 2004–2006, with disease incidence of 2–30% (10% in average). In addition to typical wilting symptoms on the foliage, in cases of severe infection, progeny tubers were rotten in the soil. Six strains were characterised by biochemical, serological and PCR-amplification. All tests verified the strains as Dickeya sp. The rep-PCR and the biochemical assays showed that the strains isolated from blackleg diseased plants in Israel were very similar, if not identical to strains isolated from Dutch seed potatoes, suggesting that the infection in Israel originated from the Dutch seed. The strains were distantly related to D. dianthicola strains, typically found in potatoes in Western Europe, and were similar to biovar 3 D. dadanti or D. zeae. This is the first time that the presence of biovar 3 strains in potato in the Netherlands is described. One of the strains was used for pathogenicity assays on potato cvs Nicola and Mondial. Symptoms appeared 2 to 3 days after stem inoculation, and 7 to 10 days after soil inoculation. The control plants treated with water, or plants inoculated with Pectobacterium carotovorum, did not develop any symptoms with either method of inoculation. The identity of Dickeya sp. and P. carotovorum re-isolated from inoculated plants was confirmed by PCR and ELISA.

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Acknowledgements

We thank the officers of the Plant Protection Israeli Services (PPIS) for providing the data of disease incidence in the commercial fields, and C. Weinstein for editing the manuscript. The research was partially supported by The Plant Production and Marketing Board, Israel.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Agricultural Research Organisation, Gilat Research Centre, MP Negev, 85280, Israel

    L. Tsror (Lahkim), O. Erlich, S. Lebiush & M. Hazanovsky

  2. Mao’n Enterprises Ltd., MP Negev, 85465, Israel

    U. Zig

  3. Department of Biointeractions and Plant Health, Plant Research International, Droevendaalsesteeg 1, 6708PB, Wageningen, the Netherlands

    M. Slawiak, G. Grabe & J. M. van der Wolf

  4. HZPC Research BV, 9123 ZR, Metslawier, the Netherlands

    J. J. van de Haar

Authors
  1. L. Tsror (Lahkim)
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  2. O. Erlich
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  3. S. Lebiush
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  4. M. Hazanovsky
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  5. U. Zig
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  6. M. Slawiak
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  7. G. Grabe
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  8. J. M. van der Wolf
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  9. J. J. van de Haar
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Correspondence to L. Tsror (Lahkim).

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Tsror (Lahkim), L., Erlich, O., Lebiush, S. et al. Assessment of recent outbreaks of Dickeya sp. (syn. Erwinia chrysanthemi) slow wilt in potato crops in Israel. Eur J Plant Pathol 123, 311–320 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10658-008-9368-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10658-008-9368-0

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