Abstract
Botryosphaeria dothidea is one of the most important pathogens of apple trees in China. It causes warts and cankers on shoots and fruit rot. In this study, multi-season experiments were conducted to investigate the seasonal dynamics of B. dothidea infection and symptom development on twigs and fruits of cv. Fuji through spraying and rain-splash inoculations. Fruit were most susceptible to infection from late May to mid-August. The length of the incubation period, i.e. from inoculation to the first lesion was observed, generally decreased with the age of fruit at the time of inoculation. Fruit inoculated in May–June developed visible symptoms from early August onwards, with a peak in early September. However, fruit inoculated in September developed visible symptoms within one week after inoculation. Twigs remained susceptible to infection by conidia from the initial extension stage in early May to late September. New extension shoots were most susceptible from June to mid-August and then became gradually less susceptible over time. When inoculated before the end of August, twigs developed visible lesions within the same season. In contrast, when inoculated late in the season, most lesions became visible during the subsequent season. The incubation period on twigs was shorter for inoculations conducted in June–August, with the shortest being 25 days. These results may contribute to the improvement of the management of this disease.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Brown, E. A., & Britton, K. O. (1986). Botryosphaeria diseases of apple and peach in the Southeastern United States. Plant Disease, 70, 480–484.
Brown, E. A., & Hendrix, F. F. (1981). Pathogenicity and histopathology of Botryosphaeria dothidea on apple stems. Phytopathology, 71, 375–379.
Cheng, Z., Zhao, X., Dong, X., Wang, C., Liu, X., & Li, B. (2013). Resistance of apple branches at different ages to Botryosphaeria dothidea (in Chinese). Plant Protection, 39, 137–140.
Copes, W. E., & Hendrix Jr., F. F. (2004). Effect of temperature on sporulation of Botryosphaeria dothidea, B. obtusa, and B. rhodina. Plant Disease, 88, 292–296.
Guo, L., Li, J., Li, B., Zhang, X., Zhou, Z., & Li, G. (2009). Investigations on the occurrence and chemical control of Botryosphaeria canker of apple in China (in Chinese). Plant Protection, 35, 120–123.
Guo, Y., Huang, L., Zhao, Z., Sun, G., & Zhu, M. (2010). Control effect of pesticides and their application methods on Botryosphaeria dothidea from Fuji apple (in Chinese). Acta Agriculturae Boreali-occidentalis Sinica, 19, 116–119.
Han, Y., Zhuang, Y., Li, C., Zhao, Y., Wang, Y., & Zhang, X. (2012). Different host-pathogen responses between Botryosphaeria dothidea and Malus domestica (in Chinese). Journal of China Agricultural University, 17, 69–75.
Hang, W., Zhai, C., Wang, J., & Lin, S. (1999). The reason and control strategies of outbreak of apple fruit ring rot (in Chinese). Yantai Fruits, 1, 40–42.
Kohn, F. C., & Hendrix, F. F. (1982). Temperature, free moisture, and inoculum concentration effects on the incidence and development of white rot of apple. Phytopathology, 72, 313–316.
Leng, W., Li, B., Guo, L., Dong, J., Wang, C., & Li, G. (2009). Method to promote sporulation of Botryosphaeria berengeriana f. Sp. piricola (in Chinese). Acta Physica Sinica, 39, 88–91.
Li, M., Wang, J., Zhou, Z., & Qiao, Z. (1997). Study on the techniques to control ring rot of apple branches (in Chinese). China Fruits, 2, 14–16.
Li, G., Gao, Y., Yang, H., Liu, X., Sun, L., & Wang, J. (2005). Observation of infection approach of Botryosphaeria berengeriana f. Sp. piricola on apple stem under scanning electron microscope (in Chinese). Journal of Fruit Science, 22, 169–171.
Li, G., Shen, Y., Gao, Y., Chen, J., & Jie, Y. U. (2006). Infection process of Botryosphaeria dothidea in apple fruit (in Chinese). Journal of Fruit Science, 23, 69–72 + 155.
Liu, F., Chen, C., Shi, M., Guo, J., Xing, Z., & Zhang, X. (1979). Studies on the latent infection of the causal organism of valsa canker of apple (in Chinese). Acta Physica Sinica, 9, 1–8.
Liu, H., Li, C., Fan, Y., & Hou, B. (2003). Correlative analysis of resistance-related factors in apple fruits to apple fruit ring rot disease (in Chinese). Journal of Agricultural University of Hebei, 1, 56–60.
Lu, S., Du, Z., & Guo, C. (1980). Study on occurrence and chemical control of apple ring rot (in Chinese). China Fruits, 4, 32–37.
Michailides, T. J., & Morgan, D. P. (1992). Effects of temperature and wetness duration on infection of pistachio by Botryosphaeria dothidea and management of disease by reducing duration of irrigation. Phytopathology, 82, 1399–1406.
Mu, H. (1980). Preliminary study on occurrence and control of apple ring rot (in Chinese). Shandong Guoshu, 2, 8–15.
Mu, H., & Huang, Z. (1981). Study on occurrence and chemical control of apple ring rot (in Chinese). Journal of Shandong Agricultural College, 1, 31–40.
Spur, R. K. O., & Spur, R. (1984). Occurrence and relative susceptibility of apple cultivars to Botryosphaeria canker in Chile. Plant Disease, 68, 36–39.
Sun, Y., Yu, Q., & Xu, J. (2011). Relationship between lenticel tissue structure and the resistance to Botryosphaeria berengeriana f. Sp. piricola on apple stem (in Chinese). Journal of Agricultural University of Hebei, 6, 55–59.
Tang, W., Ding, Z., Zhou, Z. Q., Wang, Y. Z., & Guo, L. Y. (2012). Phylogenetic and pathogenic analyses show that the causal agent of apple ring rot in China is Botryosphaeria dothidea. Plant Disease, 96, 486–496.
Wang, J., & Hou, B. (2001). Causes of serious occurrence of apple fruit ring rot in 2000 and its control countermeasures (in Chinese). Hebei Fruits, 1, 22–23.
Wang, H., Fan, Y., Zhu, S., Yan, F., & Tan, Y. (2000). Conidia discharge of Botryosphaeria dothidea from pycnidium and its application (in Chinese). China Fruits, 4, 9–12.
Wunderlich, N., Costa, S. S., Tpoi, R. P., & Ash, G. J. (2012). First report of Botryosphaeria dothidea causing shoot blight and cankers of pistachio in Australia. Australasian Plant Disease Notes, 7, 47–49.
Xu, J., Zhou, Z., Yan, Z., & Wang, C. (1992). The infection and disease deveopment of apple ring rot caused by Botryosphaeria dothidea (in Chinese). Journal of Fruit Science, 9, 43–46.
Zhang, G., Li, B., Wang, C., Dong, X., & He, X. (2010). Curative effects of six systemic fungicides on tumor development on apple branches caused by Botryosphaeria dothidea (in Chinese). Journal of Fruit Science, 27, 1029–1031.
Zhang, G., Li, B., Dong, X., Wang, C., Li, G., & Guo, L. (2011). Microanatomy conformation of apple branch tumors caused by Botryosphaeria dothidea (in Chinese). Acta Physica Sinica, 41, 98–101.
Zhou, Z., Hou, H., Feng, G., Yang, C., & Zhao, F. (2006). Infection period of Botryosphaeria berengeriana f. Sp piricola on apple branches (in Chinese). Journal of Fruit Science, 23, 61–63.
Acknowledgments
This research was funded by the China Agriculture Research System (CARS-28) and the Taishan Scholar Construction Project of Shandong Province. We thank Prof. Yong Luo (University of California, Kearney Agricultural Centre, USA) for his comments.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Zhao, X., Zhang, Gl., Li, Bh. et al. Seasonal dynamics of Botryosphaeria dothidea infections and symptom development on apple fruits and shoots in China. Eur J Plant Pathol 146, 507–518 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10658-016-0935-5
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10658-016-0935-5