Abstract
Chinese hickory (Carya cathayensis Sarg.) is an economically and ecologically important nut plant in China. Dieback and basal stem necrosis have been observed in the plants since 2016, and its recent spread has significantly affected plant growth and nut production. Therefore, a survey was conducted to evaluate the disease incidence at five sites in Linan County, China. The highest incidence was recorded at the Tuankou site at up to 11.39% in 2019. The oomycete, Phytophthora cinnamomi, was isolated from symptomatic plant tissue and plantation soil using baiting and selective media-based detection methods and identified. Artificial infection with the representative P. cinnamomi ST402 isolate produced vertically elongated discolorations in the outer xylem and necrotic symptoms in C. cathayensis seedlings in a greenhouse trial. Molecular detections based on loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) specific to P. cinnamomi ST402 were conducted. Result indicated that LAMP detection showed a high coherence level with the baiting assays for P. cinnamomi detection in the field. This study provides the evidence of existence of high-pathogenic P. cinnamomi in the C. cathayensis plantation soil in China and the insights into a convenient tool developed for conducting field monitoring of this aggressive pathogen.
Highlights
Chinese hickory (Carya cathayensis Sarg.), belonging to the Juglandaceae family, is an economically important crop in China used for obtaining edible nuts and oil production
A phylogenetic tree comprising the ST402 isolate and other Phytophthora species was constructed based on the concatenated ITS and COI region sequences (Fig 3)
The ST402 isolate was distinguished and grouped with P. cinnamomi; it was further identified as P. cinnamomi by phylogenetic analysis
Summary
Chinese hickory (Carya cathayensis Sarg.), belonging to the Juglandaceae family, is an economically important crop in China used for obtaining edible nuts and oil production. More than 15,000 ha of C. cathayensis are cultivated in Zhejiang Province, China, providing income to local farmers and conferring ecological protection in the mountainous areas of eastern China. Traditional cultivation practices have been replaced by monoculture and fertilization to facilitate efficient management and high yield; these plant management practices have resulted in several plant diseases, such as Botryosphaeria trunk canker [1,2]. In May 2016, a significant outbreak of dieback disease in C. cathayensis was recorded in several Linan County orchards that constitute China’s main production area. The hickory leaves showed gradual yellowing and wilting, resulting in defoliation and, in plant death.
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