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Occurrence of Grapevine Declines and First Report of Black Dead Arm Associated with Botryosphaeria obtusa in Lebanon

Grapevine, cultivated mostly in the Bekaa Plain, is one of the most important fruit crops in Lebanon. During July 2004, a survey was made in 11 vineyards of local table or wine grapes to evaluate the sanitary status of the grapevine industry as far as wood declines are concerned. The most common grapevine decline was esca. The two forms of the disease (mild and severe) were observed. The mild form was characterized by leaf symptoms consisting of interveinal necrotic spots with yellow or red chlorotic blotches on white and red cultivars. The severe form was characterized by dieback of one or more shoots, leaf drop, shrivelling, and drying of fruit clusters. In west Bekaa, on cv. Cabernet Sauvignon, some vines showed symptoms identical to those of Eutypa dieback such as stunted chlorotic shoots with small, distorted leaves; moreover, symptoms corresponding to black dead arm (BDA) such as wine red spots on the margins of leaves and dry spots were seen as reported earlier (1). Diseased vines of various cultivars were collected: 10 Cabernet Sauvignon (7 esca, 3 BDA, and 1 Eutypa dieback), 4 Beitamouni, 3 Carignan, 2 Teifihi, 1 Zeitouni, 1 Mourverdre, 1 Caladoc, and 1 Merlot. In wood, cross sections through the trunk were made that showed mainly central necrosis, white heart rot, brown red wood, and black spotting. Wedge-shaped lesions were the least common. Particularly for BDA, peeling off the bark revealed a brown streaking of the external wood. Isolations were made on malt agar (MA) with wood chips cut from the different necroses described above. Fungal identifications were based on morphological characteristics in comparison with French isolates after subculturing at 20 to 22°C: Fomitiporia sp. (F85-1), Phaeomoniella chlamydospora (F85-2), Eutypa lata (BX1-10, 8D, and 8F), and Botryosphaeria obtusa (F99-1). The fungus most frequently isolated from central necrosis with white heart rot was the basidiomycete Fomitiporia sp. (35% of vines). Cultures of Fomitiporia sp. on MA reached 4 to 5 cm in diameter after 2 weeks and were yellowish to brownish without conidia. P. chlamydospora (associated with esca, black goo, or Petri disease) was isolated from only 9% of vines investigated. Cultures of P. chlamydospora on MA were slow growing and reached 7 to 8 mm in diameter in the dark after 8 days. Colonies were white but became light green and later became dark green. Sporulation was abundant. E. lata (causing Eutypa dieback) was isolated from the vine of cv. Cabernet Sauvignon showing typical symptoms and from two vines showing symptoms of esca only. Two strains produced characteristic pycniospores, and all strains were identified using polymerase chain reaction (Primer Scar 10A-10B) (2). Among the saprophytic fungi isolated from the different kinds of necroses, either central, wedge-shaped, or under the bark, B. obtusa associated with BDA was found most commonly (65% of vines). Cultures of B. obtusa were gray brown with dense aerial mycelium. Pycnidia started to form after 4 to 5 days and conidia (20 to 26 × 9 to 16 μm) were dark brown when mature. These results are consistent with previous descriptions. To our knowledge, this is the first report of black dead arm in Lebanon.

References: (1) P. Larignon et al. Phytopathol. Mediterr. 40:S336, 2001. (2) P. Lecomte et al. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 66:4475, 2000.