Dectetion of Verticillium dahliae kleb from olive trees with chronic decline and dieback of branches and shoots
Conference Paper
Overview
Research
View All
Overview
abstract
Verticillium wilt of olive tree, associated with the soil borne fungus Verticillium dahliae
Kleb., is considered an important disease in all countries of the Mediterranean region.
This disease has been increasing in newly established olive orchards which have a
negative economic impact in all regions of olive culture. In Portugal Verticillium wilt has
not been considered an important disease and few studies were carried out about this
disease. Recently, a great number of cases of chronic decline, slow growth and
dieback of shoots and branches of olive trees have been reported in all regions where
extensive plantations had occurred. These symptoms are characteristic of Verticillium
wilt in olive tree, but very often are also associated with adverse environmental or
agronomic conditions or inclusively with mechanical damages which hampered
diagnosis of biological causes. In some of these reported situations and for diagnostic
purposes we isolated Verticillum dahliae from plant tissues of trees with characteristic
symptoms of decline and slow growth. The sample of plant tissues were tap water
cleaned and surface disinfected with sodium hypochloride and incubated on PDA
(Potato Dextrose Agar) in Petri dishes at 22-23 ºC in the dark. Positive isolation of the
suspected pathogen has not been always obtained even though the same laboratory
procedure was adopted.
