Authors
G. T.
Tziros
and
G. A.
Bardas
,
Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Faculty of Agriculture, Plant Pathology Laboratory, P.O. Box 269, 541 24, Thessaloniki, Greece
;
J. T.
Tsialtas
,
NAGREF, Cotton and Industrial Plants Institute, 574 00, Sindos, Greece
; and
G. S.
Karaoglanidis
,
Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Faculty of Agriculture, Plant Pathology Laboratory, P.O. Box 269, 541 24, Thessaloniki, Greece
Oilseed rape (Brassica napus L.) was recently introduced into Greece for the production of biofuels. During May of 2007, symptoms typical of stem rot were observed on oilseed rape plants in three commercial fields in the area of Galatades-Pella, Central Macedonia, Greece. Approximately 30% of the plants were affected. Symptoms began as a chlorotic wilt on the foliage and developed into necrosis of basal stems. In the advanced stages of the disease, stems and branches became bleached and eventually died. White, as well as black, mycelium and irregularly shaped sclerotia (2 to 5 mm in diameter) were produced abundantly on and inside the affected stems. To isolate the pathogen, 20 symptomatic 6-month-old plants were collected from each field. Sclerotia were dipped in 70% ethanol, surface sterilized in 1% sodium hypochlorite for 1 min, and rinsed in sterile water. Sclerotia placed on potato dextrose agar (PDA) were incubated in the dark at 25°C for 10 days. Sclerotinia sclerotiorum (Lib.) de Bary was identified on the basis of morphological characteristics (2). To conduct pathogenicity tests, 10 6-week-old oilseed rape plants (cv. Titan) were each inoculated with a 5-mm-diameter colonized PDA disk placed in wounds made in the basal stem with a sterile scalpel. Five control plants were treated similarly except that the agar disk did not contain mycelium. Plants were then covered with a plastic bag to maintain high humidity. After 72 h, the bags were removed and the plants were maintained in a growth chamber at 23 to 25°C with a 12-h photoperiod and 75% relative humidity. Pathogenicity tests were repeated three times. Symptoms identical to those observed in the field developed within 12 days after inoculation; control plants remained healthy. The fungus was reisolated from all inoculated plants, confirming Koch's postulates. S. sclerotiorum has been reported on oilseed rape in Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, the United States, and New Zealand (1). To our knowledge, this is the first report of Sclerotinia stem rot of oilseed rape in Greece.
References: (1) D. F. Farr et al. Fungal Databases. Systematic Botany and Mycology Laboratory. Online publication. ARS, USDA, 2008. (2) L. M. Kohn. Phytopathology 69:881, 1979.
