Detection and identification of “black foot” pathogens of grapes in Crimea

Abstract

At the present stage of development, stable economic efficiency of viticulture is possible if a decrease in the viability of grape plants, accompanied by a decrease in their productivity and lifecycle reduction, is prevented. Progressive grapevine weakening can be caused by both climate change and affection of perennial wood by the complexes of phytopathogenic fungi. In the last two decades, in all major grape-cultivating states, the root rot or “black foot” of grapes has been attributed to the most harmful diseases of perennial wood, especially in nurseries and young plantations. Presently, 30 fungal species are known to be associated with this disease, with the most common genera being Campylocarpon, Cylindrocladiella, Dactylonectria, Ilyonectria, Neonectria, Pleiocarpon, and Thelonectria. The article presents the results of laboratory researches and field experiments aimed at studying the etiology of inhibition of grape plant development in the conditions of Crimea. For the period from 2017 to 2021, in the vineyards of Mountain-Valley, South-Western and Central-Steppe Crimea, the affection of bushes of grape varieties ‘Moldova’, ‘Aligote’, ‘Arcadia’, ‘Lora’, ‘Rkatsiteli’ with the disease "black foot" or root rot of grapes was diagnosed for the first time. Using of molecular biological approach based on the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) made it possible to establish that “black foot” pathogens in Crimean vineyards include Dactylonectria macrodidyma (Halleen, Schroers & Crous) L. Lombard & Crous, 2014 and Ilyonectria destructans (Zinssm.) Rossman, L. Lombard & Crous, 2015.