Survey on the Occurrence of Abiotic Diseases on Kiwifruit in Korea

Abstract

A survey of the occurrence of abiotic diseases on kiwifruit (Actinidia deliciosa) trees was conducted at sixty-two kiwifruit orchards in twenty-one locations of Jeonnam and Jeju Provinces in Korea during the 2007 growing season. Various kinds of abiotic diseases were detected on the kiwifruit trees. Malformed fruits caused by incomplete pollination were commonly observed among the normally growing fruits on almost all of the kiwifruit trees examined. Fruits imbued with wire rust, fruits scratched or girdled by the wire and fruits injured by sunscald occurred in all of the examined orchards. Abnormal growth of girdled branches by the fence wire, dead trees killed by excessive soil moisture due to poor draining and leaf chlorosis by nutrient deficiencies were found in some orchards. Leaf spotting by herbicide and leaf scorch or blight by excessively high temperature were observed. Leaf blight on young shoots by late frost and bark split on trunks by freeze occurred in several open-field orchards. Flooding and strong wind damages by attack of typhoon 'Nari' were also found during the survey period. Cup-shaped leaves frequently occurred on young shoots in early spring and the incidence of the syndrome tends to increase annually in recent years, which are not etiologically defined until now.