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Eutypa dieback of grapevine is a trunk disease that impacts vineyard productivity worldwide. Grape germplasm is typically evaluated for resistance to Eutypa dieback through controlled inoculations in the greenhouse, although the high level of replication required of this approach (40 plants per genotype) can limit the total number of genotypes evaluated. An alternative approach is to evaluate naturally infected genotypes in the field. We rated the incidence and severity of vines with the diagnostic leaf symptoms of Eutypa dieback and the incidence of mortality among such vines of 973 Vitis vinifera accessions (planted in duplicate) at the US Department of Agriculture, National Clonal Germplasm Repository in Davis, CA, USA, which is maintained as a living collection for grape research. Across 3 years and spanning a total of 5 years (2011, 2013, and 2015), 120 accessions had leaf symptoms in one or more years ("susceptible accessions"). Courbu blanc [Davis Vitis identification tag (DVIT) 2313], Frankenthal blanc (DVIT 2115), and Pinot gris (DVIT 0907) were the only accessions with leaf symptoms each year. Accessions with the most severe leaf symptoms (a rating of 5 points) were Chasselas Napoleon (DVIT 0375) and Queen of the Vineyard (DVIT 0496). We identified susceptible accessions--namely, those related to 'Chasselas' and 'Muscat'--with a shared genetic background, based on a previous single nucleotide polymorphism genotyping effort of the collection. Especially for grapevine, a long-lived perennial that is meant to produce a crop for decades, knowledge of susceptible accessions and their pedigrees can help inform breeding programs and studies on the host response to infection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Eutypa dieback of grapevine is a trunk disease that affects vineyard productivity. Wood symptoms of this disease develop consistently in greenhouse-grown plants, after inoculation of woody stems with the causal fungus Eutypa lata. Wood symptoms are a common measure of host cultivar resistance and E. lata isolate virulence. Leaf symptoms of the disease also develop in the greenhouse, although reports of low correlations between severity of wood and leaf symptoms (for some cultivars and isolates) indicate that a definitive procedure is required for evaluating cultivar resistance. Three ‘phenotyping assays’, replicated with two E. lata isolates (BX1-10 and M14), were assessed for quantifying resistance of a set of Vitis vinifera cultivars (‘Black Corinth’, ‘Carignane’, ‘Husseine’, ‘Merlot’, ‘Muscat Hamburg’, ‘Palomino’, ‘Peloursin’, ‘Primitivo’, and ‘Thompson Seedless’). The methods were: Assay 1 (leaf and woodystem symptoms measured 1 year post-inoculation on plants propagated from rooted, dormant cuttings); Assay 2 (green stem symptoms measured 4 months post-inoculation on plants propagated from rooted, green cuttings); and Assay 3 (leaf symptoms measured 6 weeks post-inoculation on plants propagated from rooted, dormant cuttings). High rates of mortality among some cultivars (‘Merlot’) in Assay 3 confounded results based on leaf symptoms. Results from Assays 1 and 2 were more consistent with each other, especially for the most resistant cultivars [‘Merlot’ and ‘Primitivo’ (aka ‘Zinfandel’)]’, than they were for these cultivars in Assay 3. Compared to resistant cultivars, there was more variation in the most susceptible cultivar, including ‘Black Corinth’, ‘Carignane’, ‘Husseine’, and ‘Thompson Seedless’, regardless of the assay. Assay 1 with isolate BX1-10 was the most repeatable and provided data on wood and leaf symptoms for cultivar comparisons. Assay 2 was the most rapid, and gave results similar to those from Assay 1. Assay 2 also accommodated germplasm that can only be propagated from green cuttings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Biological control agents were tested in the field in almond, cherry, and grapevine. • Trichoderma atroviride SC1 protected efficiently grapevine pruning wounds. • Clonostachys rosea J1446 protected efficiently almond and cherry pruning wounds. The ascomycete fungi that cause wood canker diseases in perennial, horticultural crops are often generalist pathogens able to infect multiple host plants. These pathogens frequently infect pruning wounds, and the protection of such wounds with chemicals or biological control agents (BCAs) is an essential component of disease management. This study aimed at assessing four commercial BCAs for their ability to prevent almond, cherry, and grapevine pruning wound infections by three canker pathogens under field conditions for two growing seasons: Calosphaeria pulchella in cherry, Neofusicoccum parvum in almond and grapevine, and Eutypa lata in all three hosts. The two bacterial BCAs tested, Bacillus amyloliquefasciens MBI 600 and Streptomyces lydicus WYEC 108, performed poorly overall as infection rates in treated wounds were not significantly different than in the water-treated wounds for most pathogens in all crops. Trichoderma atroviride SC1 provided the best protection against E. lata and N. parvum in grapevine, achieving superior or equivalent protection than the standard conventional chemical thiophanate-methyl. Field trials also demonstrated that Clonostachys rosea J1446 provided satisfactory protection of pruning wounds against E. lata and C. pulchella in cherry and against E. lata and N. parvum in almond trees. The identification of effective BCAs for use in multiple crops and against multiple pathogens is a great step towards a sustainable management of fungal canker diseases by mitigating the negative impacts of chemical fungicides. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cultivars of European grapevine, Vitis vinifera, show varying levels of susceptibility to Eutypa dieback and Esca, in terms of foliar symptoms. However, little is known regarding cultivar susceptibility of their woody tissues to canker formation. Accordingly, we evaluated the relative susceptibility of V. vinifera cultivars ('Cabernet Franc', 'Caber-net Sauvignon', 'Chardonnay', 'Merlot', 'Riesling', 'Petite Syrah', and 'Thompson Seedless') and species or interspecific hybrids of North American Vitis (Vitis hybrid 'Concord', V. arizonica 'b42-26', V. rupestris × V. cinerea '111547-1', and Fennell 6 [V. aestivalis] × Malaga [V. vinifera] 'DVIT0166') to canker formation by seven trunk patho-gens (Neofusicoccum pan'um, Lasiodiplodia theobromae, Phaeomoni-ella chlamydospora, Togninia minima, Phomopsis viticola, Eutypa lata, and an undescribed Eutypa sp.). Susceptibility was based on the length of wood discoloration (LWD) in the woody stems of rooted plants in duplicate greenhouse experiments. Cultivars of V. vinifera and Concord did not vary significantly in susceptibility to N. pan'um or L. theobromae (LWD of 21 to 88 mm at 14 weeks post inoculation; P > 0.16), suggesting that they are similarly susceptible to Botryosphaeria dieback. The table-grape Thompson Seedless was most susceptible to P. viticola (mean LWD of 61 mm at 11 months post inoculation; P < 0.0001). V. vinifera cultivars and Concord showed similar susceptibility to the Esca pathogens, Phaeomoniella chlamydospora and T. minima. Susceptibility to E. lata was greatest in V. arizonica b42-26 (mean LWD of 96 mm at 11 months post inoculation; P < 0.03). In fact, all four American Vitis spp. were more susceptible to Eutypa dieback than the V. vinifera cultivars. Our findings suggest that no one cultivar is likely to provide resistance to the range of trunk pathogens but that certain cultivars may be promising candidates for commercially rele-vant host resistance in grape-production systems where the dominant cultivars are very susceptible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]