Experimental minimum threshold for <em>Phytophthora cinnamomi</em> root disease expression on <em>Quercus suber</em>

Quercus suber seedlings were potted in soils infested with increasing concentrations of Phytophthora cinnamomi chlamydospores and submitted to weekly flooding for 3 months to favour root infections. Increasing quantities of chlamydospores led to an exponential increase in their ability to germinate....

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: María Socorro SERRANO, Pedro RÍOS, Mario GONZÁLEZ, María Esperanza SÁNCHEZ
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Firenze University Press 2015-09-01
Series:Phytopathologia Mediterranea
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Online Access:https://oajournals.fupress.net/index.php/pm/article/view/5636
Description
Summary:Quercus suber seedlings were potted in soils infested with increasing concentrations of Phytophthora cinnamomi chlamydospores and submitted to weekly flooding for 3 months to favour root infections. Increasing quantities of chlamydospores led to an exponential increase in their ability to germinate. Root symptoms (necrosis and/or absence of feeder roots) were significantly more severe than those recorded in uninfested soil only for plants potted in soils infested with 61 cfu g-1 or more. Although generated using potting mix, this minimum threshold represents a tool for checking the potential infectivity of infested soils or to assess the effectiveness of some control methods to reduce soil inoculum. However, a low level of root infection was recorded even at 3 cfu g-1. Therefore, long-term disease risk may be present whenever the pathogen is detectable in oak forest soils.
ISSN:0031-9465
1593-2095