Phytoparasitica (1996) 24, 138-139

E. Shabi, S. Freeman, Talma Katan and Beth Teviotdale (1996)
Almond anthracnose in Israel and California
Phytoparasitica 24 (2), 138-139
The 17th Congress of the Israeli Phytopathological Society, February 19-20, 1996 (Bet Dagan, Israel), lecture
Abstract: Fungi of the genus Colletotrichum cause anthracnose disease in many crops. In Israel, the fungal species C. gloeosporioides infects various crops such as almond, avocado and (in the past) apples. Almond anthracnose was first discovered in Israel approximately 20 years ago and caused serious damage to orchards in the north and the south of the country. The fungus infects young fruit and causes wilting of leaves and dieback of branches. Almond anthracnose is distributed in the Mediterranean region and South Africa and was first reported in California in 1916. The disease was re-discovered in California in 1992 and during the spring of 1995 many almond orchards were infected by anthracnose. Isolates of the almond anthracnose pathogen from California were compared with those from Israel. Comparisons were done by measuring growth of cultures on medium amended with benomyl at concentrations of 0.05, 0.5 and 5.0 µg /ml and by molecular methods. It was found that the sensitivity of Californian isolates to benomyl did not differ from that of the Israeli isolates. However, the two populations differed in colony color, optimal growth temperatures and conidial morphology. DNA extracted from the Californian isolates showed a different profile compared with that of the Israeli isolates after PCR amplification. These findings suggest that the Californian isolates are different from the Israeli isolates, and are more closely related to the species C. acutatum than to C. gloeosporioides. Preliminary results showed that 12 isolates from California belong to a single vegetative-compatibility group.
(The abstract is excluded from the Creative Commons licence and has been copied with permission by the publisher.)
Database assignments for author(s): Stanley Freeman

Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
general biology - morphology - evolution

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Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
	Colletotrichum gloeosporioides	Almond (Prunus dulcis)	Israel