Chapter 6 - Bacterial diseases in forest trees

Abstract

Bacterial diseases in woody plants are best characterized for ornamental and fruit trees and much less is known for forest trees. There are many diseases of forest trees whose etiology remains to be clarified and likely more bacterial diseases of forest trees will be discovered in the next few years. An overview of the main bacterial pathogens that cause diseases in forest and ornamental trees is described in this chapter and the general differences between fungal and bacterial diseases are outlined. For bacteria pathogenic to trees, six types of diseases are described: Bacterial blight diseases, represented by Erwinia amylovora, the fireblight disease; Bacterial wilt disease, represented by Ralstonia solanacearum species complex; root and stem galls of trees, represented by Agrobacterium tumefaciens; wetwood disease, caused by several bacterial genera like Clostridium, Bacillus, Enterobacter, Klebsiella, and Pseudomonas, Xanthomonas, and Pantoea; bacterial scorch disease represented by Xylella fastidiosa with all its subspecies; bacterial canker represented by Pseudomonas syringae with all its pathovars. Finally, the current diagnostic methods and specific issues related to bacteria detection, together with the main results of the scientific efforts and challenges in the genetic breeding to increase bacterial resistance of trees, are outlined.