Effect of temperature and bacteria on sporulation of Phytophthora alni in river water.

In order to evaluate the role of river water on the spread of the alder disease caused by Phytophthora alni, water samples were collected at different periods of the year 2004 in two rivers displaying contrasting biological quality indices. Sporangia were produced from isolates of P. alni belonging to the three subspecies, at the river temperature (between 8 and 15 degrees C according to the sampling period). The sporulation efficiency was evaluated according to a scale of 0-9, based on the amount of sporangia produced on mycelium plugs immersed in the water for two days. Sporulation was also evaluated in river water sterilised by filtration. The amount of sporangia increased with the water temperature for both rivers, regardless of the biological quality. No sporangium was produced at the lowest temperature (8 degrees C). Sterilisation of the water drastically reduced the sporangia-stimulating effect for most of the P. alni isolates.

First Report of Phytophthora ramorum on Viburnum bodnantense in Belgium.

In the past decade, a new Phytophthora species inducing shoot canker on Rhododendron and dieback of Viburnum has been observed in Europe, mainly in Germany and the Netherlands, and California. This new pathogen has been named Phytophthora ramorum (3). In May 2002, a diseased Viburnum plant (Viburnum bodnantense) from the Plant Protection Service (Ministry of Agriculture, Belgium) was submitted to our laboratory for diagnosis. Symptoms included wilting, leaves turning from green to brown, discolored vascular tissues, and root necrosis. The plant came from a Belgian ornamental nursery that obtained supplies of stock plants from the Netherlands. Pieces of necrotic root tissue were excised, surface-disinfected, and transferred aseptically to a Phytophthora selective medium. P. ramorum was identified based on morphological characteristics, including the production of numerous, thin-walled chlamydospores (25 to 70 µm in diameter, average 43 µm) and deciduous, semi-papillate sporangia arranged in clusters. Radial growth after 6 days at 20°C on V8 juice agar was 2.8 mm per day. Random amplified microsatellite markers (RAMS) (2) from the total genomic DNA of the Belgian strain (CBS 110901) were similar to those of P. ramorum reference strains (CBS 101330, CBS 101332, and CBS 101554). Using PCR primers specific for P. ramorum, the identification was confirmed by W. A. Man in't Veld (Plantenziektenkundige Dienst, Wageningen, the Netherlands) (1). A pathogenicity test was carried out on three sterile cuttings of Rhododendron catawbiense (3). Brown lesions were observed on the inoculated cuttings after 6 to 7 days. None of the three uninoculated cuttings showed symptoms of infection. P. ramorum was reisolated from lesion margins on the inoculated cuttings. To our knowledge, this is the first report of the fungus from Belgium. Since our initial observation, we have found P. ramorum in other Belgian nurseries on R. yakusimanum. References: (1) M. Garbelotto et al. US For. Ser. Gen. Tech. Rep. PSW-GRT. 184:765, 2002. (2) J. Hantula et al. Mycol. Res. 101:565, 1997. (3) S. Werres et al. Mycol. Res. 105:1155, 2001.