Journal of Plant Pathology (2008) 90, 131-135

L. Carraro, F. Ferrini, M. Martini, P. Ermacora and N. Loi (2008)
A serious epidemic of stolbur on celery
Journal of Plant Pathology 90 (1), 131-135
Abstract: A 3-year study was carried out in a geographically and ecologically isolated area of north-east Italy with a long tradition in horticulture, where a severe epidemic of stolbur phytoplasma occurred. Among cultivated vegetables, celery was the most susceptible to the disease. In the farms surveyed, Convolvulus arvensis a natural host of the phytoplasma and the vector Hyalesthes obsoletus were plentiful. Groups of H. obsoletus individuals transmitted the pathogen to celery and grapevine under controlled conditions. Other species of insects, shown by PCR to host the phytoplasma, did not transmit it. The surveyed area is a closed ecological niche with high infection pressure and represents a primary example of how an epidemic of phytoplasma can develop among cultivated plants.
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Database assignments for author(s): Luigi Carraro

Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
environment - cropping system/rotation

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Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
	Convolvulus arvensis (weed)	Celery (Apium graveolens)	Italy
	Hyalesthes obsoletus	Grapevine (Vitis)	Italy
	Hyalesthes obsoletus	Celery (Apium graveolens)	Italy
	16SrXII phytoplasma group	Celery (Apium graveolens)	Italy