Work

First Report of Neofusicoccum nonquaesitum Causing Branch Dieback of English Walnut (Juglans regia) in the Maule Region, Chile

Year: 2024

Type: article

Abstract: fragments of mycelium/ml) on rounded wounds in the middle of each attached young branch (n=30 branches) (Twizeyimana et al. 2013). Sterile distilled water was used as a control treatment. Pathogenicity tests were repeated twice. After 6 months, necrotic streaks with mean lengths of 13 mm and 28 mm were observed in the middle of wounded young branches. No necrotic lesions were observed in the control treatments. Reisolation of N. nonquaesitum was positive (100%) only from inoculated branches and molecularly identified (EF1-a), fulfilling Koch's postulates. Previously, N. nonquaesitum has been reported causing dieback on English walnut in California (Chen et al. 2014). To our knowledge, this is the first report of N. nonquaesitum causing canker and branch dieback of English walnut in central Chile. Previously, Diplodia mutila, Dothiorella sarmentorum, and N. austral have been associated with walnut dieback in Chile (Díaz et al. 2018; Iqbal et al. 2023; Barcos et al. 2023). In conclusion, it is imperative to implement epidemiological studies to avoid the spread and severity of branch dieback of walnuts in the Maule region, central Chile.

Source: Plant Disease

DOI: 10.1094/pdis-06-24-1225-pdn

Authors: Shehzad Iqbal, Gonzalo A. Díaz, Enrique E. Ferrada

Institutions: University of Talca, Austral University of Chile

Language: English

Topic: Plant Pathogens and Fungal Diseases

Subfield: Cell Biology

Field: Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology

Domain: Life Sciences

SDG: Zero hunger

Open Access status: bronze

Funder: Fondo Nacional de Desarrollo Científico y Tecnológico