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Eutypa armeniacae Hansford et Carter
Eutypa lata (Pers. Fr.) Tul.

Mycologia, ASCOMYCOTINA, DIATRYPALES, DIATRYPACEAE .

Crops attacked: grapevine, .

[R]Common Names :

Eutypa canker,

In Europe, it exists in the grapevine growing regions (in Portugal since 1983).

Identification, Description, Biology, Epidemiology, Treatement, Possible misleading, Images

[R]Identification
The stroma where the perithecia and pycnidia are formed are visible under naked eye and appear normally near the wounds through which the fungus penetrates, in dry branches.
The fungus can be isolated and grown in artificial nutritive media.

[R]Description
In transverse section, necrotic wedge-shaped zones of greyish or brown-purple colour in the branches (primary symptoms).
Secondary symptoms caused by the fungus toxins, usually after 5 years of contamination are : shoots with short internodes ; crinkled and cupped leaves with necrosis and tattered margins ; aborted flowers and clusters.

[R]Biology
The fungus overwinters, resisting to the adverse conditions as perithecia that develop in the dead branches, connected or not to the trunk.
Perithecia occur on stromatic tissue on the surface of dead wood (where previously the pycnidia were formed originating inviable asexual spores) and maintain activity for 5 or more years.
The infection takes place from the ascospores that germinate in recent wounds, penetrating the xylem.

[R]Epidemiology
The ascospores are released from the perithecia about 2 hours after the start of the rain and are carried out to long distances by the wind.
The infection occurs through recent wounds (the receptive period extends up to 2 to 3 weeks at early in winter and is only of one day, in early spring).
Optimal temperatures for infection are between 22 - 25 °C.

[R]Treatement
Cultural practices are essential (avoid fertilization that favours excess of vegetative vigour and prunning that induces great wounds) as well as prophylatic measures (removal of dead shoots and all affected tissue).
Preventive chemical control, protecting the wounds with concentrated pastes of suitable products, as those of benzimidazols group (1.25% of active substance).

[R]Possible misleading
The secondary symptoms like the short internodes can be confused with the short internodes induced by grapevine fanleaf virus, but the shoots have not fasciation or bifurcation and present internodes uniformly short. The primary symptoms (wedge-shaped zones seen in transverse section of the shoots) may be hidden by the action of other xylem fungi that form a complex with Eutypa lata .

[R] Images

  1. Eutypa armeniaca , Eutypa canker (GROSCLAUDE C., INRA)
    Eutypa canker of apricot-tree Blight and cankers induced by Eutypa armeniaca on apricot trunk.
  2. Eutypa lata , Grapevine canker, Grapevine dieback (TOMAZ I., MA)
    Grapevine canker, Grapevine dieback Necrotic regions caused by Eutypa lata on a grapevine shoot (cross-section).
  3. Eutypa lata , Grapevine canker, Grapevine dieback (DUBOS B., INRA)
    Grapevine canker, Grapevine dieback Stunted vegetation on a primary branch of a grapevine infected with Eutypa lata .
  4. Eutypa lata , Grapevine canker, Grapevine dieback (BOSSENNEC J-M., INRA)
    Grapevine canker, Grapevine dieback Stunted vegetal growth of a grapevine infected by Eutypa lata , compare with the development of neighbouring plants).
  5. Eutypa lata , Grapevine canker, Grapevine dieback (BOSSENNEC J-M., INRA)
    Grapevine canker, Grapevine dieback Sickly and stunted shoots on a grapevine branch affected by Eutypa lata , compare with the development of neighbouring plants).

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