| Summary: | Kiwi fruit: Insights to combat bacterial canker Studying the transmission pathways of a bacterium that infects and kills kiwi fruit plants suggests that modified plant protection strategies could minimize the risk of disease. Researchers in Italy and New Zealand, led by Francesco Spinelli at the University of Bologna, investigated Pseudomonas syringae pv. Actinidiae (Psa), which causes kiwi fruit bacterial canker. This has been a major problem worldwide since a pandemic outbreak in 2008. The results show that flower tissues, especially the stigmata which receive transmitted pollen, are crucial sites allowing Psa to grow and penetrate into the plants. Evidence is presented of bacterial transmission via the pollen dispersed from plants that do not themselves show signs of infection. Suggested new control strategies include inspecting and treating pollen-donating plants, and using biological agents to compete with Psa growing inside kiwi fruit flowers.
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