Isolation and characterization of Colletotrichum spp. in the olive growing area of Maruggio (Apulia Region) for the epidemiological modeling of olive Anthracnose disease
Olive (Olea europaea L.) is one of the major crops in the Mediterranean basin. However, effective and timely disease management continues to pose a challenge to olive growers, and disease outbreaks remain a drawback for the advancement of this sector. Therefore, an improvement of plant protection strategies through advanced monitoring technologies and methodologies is urgent. In this study, many olive orchards in Maruggio and Manduria areas, south Italy, were surveyed on 10 February 2020 for the presence of olive anthracnose disease. A total of 14 Colletotrichum spp. isolates were collected from leaves, branches, and mummies of symptomatic and asymptomatic plant organs of 12 olive orchards. DNA extraction and amplification of ITS, b-tubulin, and GADPH genes through PCR showed high similarity to C. acutatum s.
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s, and particularly to isolates obtained from Feijoa sellowiana in the Basilicata region, Italy. A prototype disease prediction model was used to simulate the pathogen dynamics according to environmental factors like temperature, relative humidity, leaf wetness, and rainfall. Olive anthracnose was simulated according to weather conditions in 2019 and 2020. Despite the required improvement, with experiments regarding the pathogen latent period and the infectious period, the model correctly simulated the main steps in the pathogen infection cycle. Surveys in August 2020 confirmed the presence and development of the disease.
