Verticillium wilt of olive in Turkey: a survey on disease importance, pathogen diversity and susceptibility of relevant olive cultivars

A comprehensive survey on the prevalence and incidence of Verticillium wilt of olive in Turkey has been conducted over 6 years (2003–2008). Vegetative compatibility group (VCG) assessment and PCR-based molecular pathotyping were used to evaluate the distribution of the defoliating (D) and nondefoliating (ND) pathotypes of Verticillium dahliae in surveyed areas. Pathogen prevalence was 35% of all olive orchards inspected and incidence of the disease reached 3.1%. VCG1A was predominant (29.3%) and infected all major cultivars grown in Turkey. The other two VCGs detected (2A and 4B) were of minor relevance (4.9% and 0.9%, respectively). Disease incidence caused by VCG1A infections was higher (ranging from 1.1% to 6.9%) than that caused by VCG2A and VCG4B in 10 provinces (Manisa, Aydin, Kahramanmaras, Izmir, Mugla, Kilis, Denizli, Gaziantep, Mardin and Balikesir). However, VCG2A and 4B were more prevalent (and responsible for higher disease incidence) than VCG1A in three provinces (Hatay, Osmaniye and Bursa). Finally, VCG1A isolates were found in all provinces except Canakkale, and simultaneous presence of the three VCGs was only verified in Hatay province. An artificial inoculation bioassay (19 representative V. dahliae isolates included) revealed that VCG1A (13) isolates as a group were more aggressive and caused defoliation, whereas VCG2A (5) and VCG4B (1) isolates induced milder symptoms. Within a VCG group, virulence varied among isolates infecting the same olive cultivar and this virulence was also related to the differential susceptibility of the cultivars (‘Manzanilla’, ‘Ayvalik’ and ‘Gemlik’) tested. Molecular pathotyping allowed the identification of D (VCG1A) and ND (VCG2A/4B) pathotypes, which correlated with results from pathogenicity tests. Remarkably, the V. dahliae VCG1A/D pathotype population infecting olive in Turkey was molecularly different from that one previously identified in Spain.