Virulence and cross-infection potential of Ilyonectria spp. to grapevine

Black foot is an important disease of grapevines, affecting vines in nurseries as well as in young plantations. In recent years the disease has increased in incidence and severity throughout the world. Black foot is associated with at least two Campylocarpon and 12 Ilyonectria species, most of which have only recently been described. The recognition of previously unknown species, together with published reports of variability in virulence between and within species identified as I. macrodidyma and I. liriodendri, underlined the need to compare the virulence of isolates from these complexes. A further objective of this work was to determine the cross-infection potential of isolates of these species from other hosts to grapevine. Results from this study revealed recently described species such as I. lusitanica, I. estremocensis and I. europaea to be more virulent to grapevine than the species previously accepted as the main causal agents of black foot, such as I. liriodendri and I. macrodidyma. Furthermore, these results also provided support for isolates obtained from non-grapevine hosts to be as virulent to grapevines as isolates obtained from grapevine, underlying the cross-infection potential of these pathogens