Dynamics of ascospore maturation and discharge in Erysiphe necator, the causal agent of grape powdery mildew

Efficiency of inorganic fungicides against the formation of Erysiphe necator chasmothecia in vineyards

BACKGROUND

A reduction in chasmothecia, an important inoculum of grape powdery mildew (Erysiphe necator Schwein.), is essential for disease control in vineyards; the use of fungicides during the formation of chasmothecia on vine leaves, late in the growing season, may accomplish this. Inorganic fungicides, such as sulphur, copper, and potassium bicarbonate, are very useful for this purpose because of their multisite mode of action. The aim of this study was to evaluate chasmothecia reduction using different fungicide applications late in the growing season in commercially managed vineyards and in an exact application trial.

RESULTS

Chasmothecia on vine leaves were reduced in commercial vineyards by four copper (P = 0.01) and five potassium bicarbonate (P = 0.026) applications. The positive effect of potassium bicarbonate was also confirmed in the application trial, where two applications showed lower chasmothecia numbers than the control (P = 0.002).

CONCLUSION

The application of inorganic fungicides reduced the amount of chasmothecia as the primary inoculum source. Potassium bicarbonate and copper are of further interest for disease control as these fungicides can be used by organic and conventional wine growers. The application of these fungicides should be carried out as late as possible before harvest to reduce chasmothecia formation and, consequently, the potential for powdery mildew infestation in the subsequent season. © 2023 The Authors. Pest Management Science published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry.

A Comprehensive Characterization of Ecological and Epidemiological Factors Driving Perennation of Podosphaera macularis Chasmothecia on Hop (Humulus lupulus)

Hop powdery mildew, caused by the ascomycete fungus Podosphaera macularis, is a consistent threat to sustainable hop production. The pathogen utilizes two reproductive strategies for overwintering and perennation: (i) asexual vegetative hyphae on dormant buds that emerge the following season as infected shoots; and (ii) sexual ascocarps (chasmothecia), which are discharged during spring rain events. We demonstrate that P. macularis chasmothecia, in the absence of any asexual P. macularis growth forms, are a viable overwintering source capable of causing early season infection two to three orders of magnitude greater than that reported for perennation via asexual growth. Two epidemiological models were defined that describe (i) temperature-driven maturation of P. macularis chasmothecia; and (ii) ascosporic discharge in response to duration of leaf wetness and prevailing temperatures. P. macularis ascospores were confirmed to be infectious at temperatures ranging from 5 to 20°C. The organism's chasmothecia were also found to adhere tightly to the host tissue on which they formed, suggesting that these structures likely overwinter wherever hop tissue senesces within a hop yard. These observations suggest that existing early season disease management practices are especially crucial to controlling hop powdery mildew in the presence of P. macularis chasmothecia. Furthermore, these insights provide a baseline for the validation of weather-driven models describing maturation and release of P. macularis ascospores, models that can eventually be incorporated into hop disease management programs.

Development and Evaluation of a Model that Predicts Grapevine Anthracnose Caused by Elsinoë ampelina

Grapevine anthracnose caused by Elsinoë ampelina is a serious threat in many vineyards, and its control requires repeated application of fungicides, usually on a calendar basis. A better understanding of the pathogen life cycle would help growers manage anthracnose more safely and effectively. After conducting a systematic literature search of grape anthracnose, we used the retrieved information and data to develop a mechanistic model based on systems analysis. The model simulates production and maturation of primary inoculum, infection caused by both primary and secondary conidia, and lesion formation and production of secondary inoculum. The model was validated for its ability to predict first seasonal onset of anthracnose lesions by using 8 years of data collected at Auckland, New Zealand, and disease progress during the season by using 3 years of data collected at Frelighsburg, Canada. Overall, the model provided accurate predictions of infection occurrence, with 0.96 accuracy, 0.91 sensitivity, and 0.97 specificity. The model also showed good accuracy for predicting disease progress, with a concordance correlation coefficient between observed and predicted disease severities of 0.92, a root mean square error of 0.14, and a coefficient of residual mass of 0.06. Although the model failed to predict 10 of 110 real infection periods, these missed infections led to only mild disease symptoms. We therefore conclude that the model is reliable and can be used to reduce the costs of anthracnose management by improving the timing of fungicide applications.

Unexpected Effects of Local Management and Landscape Composition on Predatory Mites and Their Food Resources in Vineyards

Viticultural practices and landscape composition are the main drivers influencing biological pest control in vineyards. Predatory mites, mainly phytoseiid (Phytoseiidae) and tydeoid mites (Tydeidae), are important to control phytophagous mites (Tetranychidae and Eriophyidae) on vines. In the absence of arthropod prey, pollen is an important food source for predatory mites. In 32 paired vineyards located in Burgenland/Austria, we examined the effect of landscape composition, management type (organic/integrated), pesticide use, and cover crop diversity of the inter-row on the densities of phytoseiid, tydeoid, and phytophagous mites. In addition, we sampled pollen on vine leaves. Typhlodromus pyri Scheuten was the main phytoseiid mite species and Tydeus goetzi Schruft the main tydeoid species. Interestingly, the area-related acute pesticide toxicity loading was higher in organic than in integrated vineyards. The densities of phytoseiid and tydeoid mites was higher in integrated vineyards and in vineyards with spontaneous vegetation. Their population also profited from an increased viticultural area at the landscape scale. Eriophyoid mite densities were extremely low across all vineyards and spider mites were absent. Biological pest control of phytophagous mites benefits from less intensive pesticide use and spontaneous vegetation cover in vineyard inter-rows, which should be considered in agri-environmental schemes.

A Fresh Look at Grape Powdery Mildew (Erysiphe necator) A and B Genotypes Revealed Frequent Mixed Infections and Only B Genotypes in Flag Shoot Samples

Erysiphe necator populations, causing powdery mildew of grapes, have a complex genetic structure. Two genotypes, A and B, were identified in most vineyards across the world on the basis of fixed single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in several DNA regions. It was hypothesized that A populations overwinter as mycelia in grapevine buds, giving rise to so-called flag shoots in spring, and are more sensitive to fungicides than B populations, which overwinter as ascospores and become widespread later in the season. Other studies concluded that the biological significance of these genotypes is unclear. In the spring of 2015, there was a unique opportunity to collect E. necator samples from flag shoots in Hungary. The same grapevines were sampled in summer and autumn as well. A total of 182 samples were genotyped on the basis of β-tubulin (TUB2), nuclear ribosomal DNA (nrDNA) intergenic spacer (IGS), and internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequences. Genotypes of 56 samples collected in 2009–2011 were used for comparison. Genotype A was not detected at all in spring, and was present in only 19 samples in total, mixed with genotype B, and sometimes with another frequently found genotype, designated as B2. These results did not support the hypothesis about temporal isolation of the two genotypes and indicated that these are randomly distributed in vineyards.

Can Spore Sampler Data Be Used to Predict Plasmopara viticola Infection in Vineyards?

Grapevine downy mildew (DM) is caused by the dimorphic oomycete Plasmopara viticola, which incites epidemics through primary and secondary infection cycles that occur throughout the season. The secondary infection cycles are caused by the sporangia produced on DM lesions. The current research examined the relationship between numbers of airborne sporangia and DM development on grape leaves to determine whether spore sampler data can be useful to predict the potential for secondary infections of P. viticola. Three years (2015-2017) of spore sampler data confirmed that sporangia are a common component of the airborne microflora in a DM-infested vineyard and that their numbers depend on weather conditions. For a total of 108 days, leaf samples were collected from the vineyard at 2- to 3-day intervals and incubated under optimal conditions for P. viticola infection. The numbers of airborne sporangia sampled on 1 to 7 days before leaf sampling were significantly correlated with the numbers of DM lesions on the leaves. The best correlation (r=0.59), however, was found for the numbers of viable airborne sporangia (SPV), which were assessed by using equations driven by the vapour pressure deficit. In Bayesian and ROC curve analyses, SPV was found to be a good predictor of P. viticola infection of grape leaves, with AUROC=0.821 and false positive predictions mainly occurring at low SPV. A binary logistic regression showed that a threshold of 2.52 viable sporangia m^-3 air day^-1 enables a prediction of no infection with a posterior probability of 0.870, which was higher than the prior probability of 0.574. Numbers of viable sporangia in the vineyard air is therefore a useful predictor of infection and especially of no infection. The predictor missed some observed infections, but these infections were not severe (they accounted for only 31 of 374 DM lesions).

Fungicide distribution in vitiviniculture ecosystems according to different application strategies to reduce environmental impact

Systematic fungicides treatments in vine-growing European ecosystems have been conducted for decades. The goal of this study was to determine the mobility and persistence of 20 fungicides used in two viticultural zones in Atlantic and Mediterranean climates, from the moment of their application until their distribution throughout different compartments of the ecosystem: soil, water, grapes, musts and wines. This study also sought to obtain valuable information to reduce the usage of these products without affecting the health of the vines. For this purpose, different phytosanitary treatments were applied, using dosing criteria based on data provided by meteorological stations, degree-day accumulation, phenological state, and growers' criteria. The observed differences between studied geographical areas were not significant with regard to chemical accumulation in the soil and water; however, they were significantly different regarding to grapes, musts, and wines.

Formation of Erysiphe necator Chasmothecia in the Pacific Northwest United States

In the Pacific Northwest, chasmothecia formation is not observed in vineyards until the beginning of véraison despite heavy infestations whereby 100% of leaf tissue is covered by Erysiphe necator. Mating type proximity and distribution were sampled from individual lesions (∼71 mm²) on leaf tissue in a stratified sampling from three canopy heights at three times during the 2013, 2014, and 2015 growing seasons. Both mating types were observed at every sampling point and within the same lesions at all sampling dates and canopy heights. Effect of temperature and day length were examined by inoculating seedlings with known mating type 1 and 2 isolates and placed in incubators at different temperatures (5, 10, 15, 20, 25, and 30°C) or different day length changes (long day to long day, long day to short day, short day to short day, and short day to long day). Chasmothecia were produced at all temperatures that E. necator was able to colonize tissue, and the greatest number of chasmothecia were produced at 15 and 20°C (P ≤ 0.02). Day length shifts from short day (8 h) to long day (16 h) resulted in a significant increase in chasmothecia production (P < 0.001). End of season plant stress observed in the Pacific Northwest, such as water stress or host senescence, was assessed under naturally infested field conditions by either girdling canes or applying 150 mg·liter^-1 abscisic acid solution to vines, respectively, and quantifying chasmothecia production. No differences were observed in chasmothecia production in the plant stress assessment, likely due to the high vigor and ability for plants to overcome stress treatments.

Factors Influencing the Occurrence of Foliar Pathogens in Commercial Watermelon Fields in South Carolina Based on Stratified Cluster Sampling

The influence of environmental and management factors on the occurrence of foliar pathogens of watermelon was analyzed using survey-sampling data collected from commercial farms in South Carolina in spring 2015 and spring and fall 2016. A stratified two-stage cluster sampling design was used to sample symptomatic watermelon leaves from 56 fields of 27 growers in seven counties representing the main watermelon-producing areas in the state. In the sampling design, counties corresponded to strata, growers to first-stage clusters, and fields to second-stage clusters. Pathogens were identified on 100 leaves collected per field based on reproductive structures that formed on the leaves. Information about previous crops, fruit type, field size, transplanting date, first harvest date, and fungicides applied within 7 days and within 7 to 14 days prior to sampling was obtained from growers. Field alignment was determined with a compass. Survey-specific logistic regression procedures were used to analyze the effect of these factors on the probabilities of pathogen occurrence. Five fungal pathogens, Stagonosporopsis spp., Podosphaera xanthii, Cercospora citrullina, Colletotrichum orbiculare, and Myrothecium sensu lato (s.l.), and the oomycete Pseudoperonospora cubensis were included in the analyses. Among the factors we analyzed, there was a consistent increased probability of occurrence of Stagonosporopsis spp. in fields with a previous cucurbit crop, increasing probabilities of pathogen occurrence with increasing plant age, a lower probability of occurrence of some pathogens on triploid cultivars compared with diploid cultivars, and a decrease in probability of pathogen occurrence in fields aligned toward southwest or west. Application of fungicides significantly reduced the probability of observing C. citrullina, P. cubensis, and Stagonosporopsis spp. in 2015 and P. xanthii in spring 2016. This study emphasizes the importance of crop rotation and fungicide applications to manage foliar diseases of watermelon, particularly gummy stem blight, powdery mildew, and downy mildew. Crop age, cultivar type, and field alignment also were found to significantly influence the probability of pathogen occurrence. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study examining the influence of various factors on foliar pathogens of watermelon with data collected from commercial fields.

Assessment of Erysiphe necator Ascospore Release Models for Use in the Mediterranean Climate of Western Oregon

Predictive models have been developed in several major grape-growing regions to correlate environmental conditions to Erysiphe necator ascospore release; however, these models may not be broadly applicable in regions with different climatic conditions. To assess ascospore release in near-coastal regions of western Oregon, chasmothecia (syn. cleistothecia) were collected prior to leaf drop and placed onto natural and artificial grape trunk segments and overwintered outside. Ascospore release was monitored for three overwintering seasons using custom impaction spore traps from leaf drop (Biologische Bundesanstalt, Bundessortenamt und Chemische Industrie [BBCH] 97) until the onset of the disease epidemic in the following growing season. Airborne inoculum was concurrently monitored in a naturally infested research vineyard. Weather and ascospore release data were used to assess previously developed models and correlate environmental conditions to ascospore release. Ascospore release was predicted by all models prior to bud break (BBCH 08), and was observed from the first rain event following the start of inoculum monitoring until monitoring ceased. Previously developed models overpredicted ascospore release in the Willamette Valley and predicted exhaustion of inoculum prior to bud break. The magnitude of ascospore release could not be correlated to environmental conditions; thus, a binary ascospore release model was developed where release is a function of the collective occurrence of the following factors within a 24-h period: >6 h of cumulative leaf wetness during temperatures >4°C, precipitation >2.5 mm, and relative humidity >80%. The Oregon model was validated using field-collected ascospore datasets, and predicted ascospore release with 66% accuracy (P = 0.02). Extant methods for estimating ascospore release may not be sufficiently accurate to use as predictive models in wet, temperate climatic regions.

Timing Fungicide Application Intervals Based on Airborne Erysiphe necator Concentrations

Management of grape powdery mildew (Erysiphe necator) and other polycyclic diseases relies on numerous fungicide applications that follow calendar or model-based application intervals, both of which assume that inoculum is always present. Quantitative molecular assays have been previously developed to initiate fungicide applications, and could be used to optimize fungicide application intervals throughout the growing season based on inoculum concentration. Airborne inoculum samplers were placed at one research and six commercial vineyards in the Willamette Valley of Oregon. Fungicide applications in all plots were initiated at the first detection of E. necator inoculum, and all subsequent fungicide application intervals were made based the grower' standard calendar program or based on inoculum concentration. In adjusted-interval plots, fungicides were applied at the shortest labeled application interval when >10 spores were detected and the longest labeled application interval when <10 spores were detected. Fungicide applications in control plots consisted of the growers' standard management practice. An average of 2.3 fewer fungicide applications in 2013 and 1.6 fewer fungicide applications in 2014 were used in the adjusted fungicide application intervals treatment in grower fields without significant differences in berry or leaf disease incidence between treatments.

Weather During Critical Epidemiological Periods and Subsequent Severity of Powdery Mildew on Grape Berries

Recorded severity of grape powdery mildew on berries of untreated, susceptible hybrid cultivars varied from 0.2 to 50.5% across a 30-year period in Geneva, NY; within 7 of those years, cluster disease severity ranged from 3.42 to 99.5% on Vitis vinifera 'Chardonnay'. Although existing temperature-driven risk models could not account for this annual variation, pan evaporation (E_pan), an environmental variable influenced by the collective effects of temperature, vapor pressure deficit, solar radiation, and wind speed, did. Logistic regression analysis (LRA) was used to classify epidemics as either mild or severe. Recursive partition analysis (RPA) provided a simplified decision tree for calculation of powdery mildew risk and incorporated (i) an estimate of the relative primary inoculum levels based on temperatures in the previous late summer and (ii) the current season favorability for pathogen development during the grapevine phenological period critical for berry infection by Erysiphe necator. Although the LRA had fewer instances of misclassification, RPA provided a rapid means for seasonal risk classification. Both the RPA and LRA models are able to describe disease severity risk in real time or can be used to forecast risk, thereby allowing growers to adjust management programs in a responsive manner.

New Insights into the Life Cycle of the Wheat Powdery Mildew: Direct Observation of Ascosporic Infection in Blumeria graminis f. sp. tritici

Although Blumeria graminis is an intensively studied pathogen, an important part of its life cycle (namely, the way ascospores initiate primary infections on cereal leaves) has not yet been explored in detail. This study reports, for the first time, the direct observation of this process in B. graminis f. sp. tritici using light and confocal laser-scanning microscopy. All the germinated ascospores produced a single germ tube type both in vitro and on host plant surfaces; therefore, the ascosporic and conidial germination patterns are markedly different in this fungus, in contrast to other powdery mildews. Germinated ascospores penetrated the epidermal cells of wheat leaves and produced haustoria as known in the case of conidial infections. This work confirmed earlier studies reporting that B. graminis chasmothecia collected from the field do not contain mature ascospores, only asci filled with protoplasm; ascospore development is induced by moist conditions and is a fast process compared with other powdery mildews. Although ascosporic infections are frequent in B. graminis f. sp. tritici in the field, as shown by this study and other works as well, a recent analysis of the genomes of four isolates revealed the signs of clonal or near-clonal reproduction. Therefore, chasmothecia and ascospores are probably more important as oversummering structures than genetic recombination factors in the life cycle of this pathogen.

Effects of prior vegetative growth, inoculum density, light, and mating on conidiation of Erysiphe necator

Initiation of asexual sporulation in powdery mildews is preceded by a period of superficial vegetative growth of mildew colonies. We found evidence of a quorum-sensing signal in Erysiphe necator that was promulgated at the colony center and stimulated conidiation throughout the colony. Removal of the colony center after putative signal promulgation had no impact upon timing of sporulation by 48-h-old hyphae at the colony margin. However, removal of the colony center before signaling nearly doubled the latent period. A relationship between inoculum density and latent period was also observed, with latent period decreasing as the number of conidia deposited per square millimeter was increased. The effect was most pronounced at the lowest inoculum densities, with little decrease of the latent period as the density of inoculation increased above 10 spores/mm. Furthermore, light was shown to be necessary to initiate conidiation of sporulation-competent colonies. When plants were inoculated and maintained in a day-and-night cycle for 36 h but subjected to darkness after 36 h, colonies kept in darkness failed to sporulate for several days after plants kept in light had sporulated. Once returned to light, the dark-suppression was immediately reversed, and sporulation commenced within 12 h. Merging of colonies of compatible mating types resulted in near-cessation of sporulation, both in the region of merging and in more distant parts of the colonies. Colonies continued to expand but stopped producing new conidiophores once pairing of compatible mating types had occurred, and extant conidiophores stopped producing new conidia. Therefore, in addition to a quorum-sensing signal to initiate conidiation, there appears to be either signal repression or another signal that causes conidiation to cease once pairing has occurred and the pathogen has initiated the ascigerous stage for overwintering.

Grapevine powdery mildew (Erysiphe necator): a fascinating system for the study of the biology, ecology and epidemiology of an obligate biotroph

Few plant pathogens have had a more profound effect on the evolution of disease management than Erysiphe necator, which causes grapevine powdery mildew. When the pathogen first spread from North America to England in 1845, and onwards to France in 1847, 'germ theory' was neither understood among the general populace nor even generally accepted within the scientific community. Louis Pasteur had only recently reported the microbial nature of fermentation, and it would be another 30 years before Robert Koch would publish his proofs of the microbial nature of certain animal diseases. However, within 6 years after the arrival of the pathogen, nearly 6 million grape growers in France were routinely applying sulphur to suppress powdery mildew on nearly 2.5 million hectares of vineyards (Campbell, 2006). The pathogen has remained a focus for disease management efforts ever since. Because of the worldwide importance of the crop and its susceptibility to the disease, and because conventional management with modern, organic fungicides has been compromised on several occasions since 1980 by the evolution of fungicide resistance, there has also been a renewed effort worldwide to explore the pathogen's biology and ecology, its genetics and molecular interactions with host plants, and to refine current and suggest new management strategies. These latter aspects are the subject of our review.

TAXONOMY

The most widely accepted classification follows. Family Erysiphaceae, Erysiphe necator Schw. [syn. Uncinula necator (Schw.) Burr., E. tuckeri Berk., U. americana Howe and U. spiralis Berk. & Curt; anamorph Oidium tuckeri Berk.]. Erysiphe necator var. ampelopsidis was found on Parthenocissus spp. in North America according to Braun (1987), although later studies revealed isolates whose host range spanned genera, making the application of this taxon somewhat imprecise (Gadoury and Pearson, 1991). The classification of the genera before 1980 was based on features of the mature ascocarp: (i) numbers of asci; and (ii) morphology of the appendages, in particular the appendage tips. The foregoing has been supplanted by phylogeny inferred from the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) of ribosomal DNA sequences (Saenz and Taylor, 1999), which correlates with conidial ontogeny and morphology (Braun et al., 2002).

HOST RANGE

The pathogen is obligately parasitic on genera within the Vitaceae, including Vitis, Cissus, Parthenocissus and Ampelopsis (Pearson and Gadoury, 1992). The most economically important host is grapevine (Vitis), particularly the European grape, V. vinifera, which is highly susceptible to powdery mildew. Disease symptoms and signs: In the strictest sense, macroscopically visible mildew colonies are signs of the pathogen rather than symptoms resulting from its infection, but, for convenience, we describe the symptoms and signs together as the collective appearance of colonized host tissues. All green tissues of the host may be infected. Ascospore colonies are most commonly found on the lower surface of the first-formed leaves near the bark of the vine, and may be accompanied by a similarly shaped chlorotic spot on the upper surface. Young colonies appear whitish and those that have not yet sporulated show a metallic sheen. They are roughly circular, ranging in size from a few millimetres to a centimetre or more in diameter, and can occur singly or in groups that coalesce to cover much of the leaf. Senescent colonies are greyish, and may bear cleistothecia in various stages of development. Dead epidermal cells often subtend the colonized area, as natural mortality in the mildew colony, the use of fungicides, mycoparasites or resistance responses in the leaf result in the deaths of segments of the mildew colony and infected epidermal cells. Severely affected leaves usually senesce, develop necrotic blotches and fall prematurely. Infection of stems initially produces symptoms similar to those on leaves, but colonies on shoots are eventually killed as periderm forms, producing a dark, web-like scar on the cane (Gadoury et al., 2011). Inflorescences and berries are most susceptible when young, and can become completely coated with whitish mildew. The growth of the berry epidermal tissue stops when severely infected, which may result in splitting as young fruit expand. Berries in a transitional stage between susceptible and resistant (generally between 3 and 4 weeks after anthesis) develop diffuse, nonsporulating mildew colonies only visible under magnification. Diffuse colonies die as berries continue to mature, leaving behind a network of necrotic epidermal cells (Gadoury et al., 2007). Survival over winter as mycelium in buds results in a distinctive foliar symptom. Shoots arising from these buds may be heavily coated with fungal growth, stark white in colour and stand out like white flags in the vine, resulting in the term 'flag shoots'. More commonly, colonization of a flag shoot is less extensive, and infection of a single leaf, or of leaves on one side of the shoot only, is observed (Gadoury et al., 2011).

Evaluation of a Warning System for Early-Season Control of Grapevine Powdery Mildew

In several grape-growing areas of the world, including northern Italy, powdery mildew epidemics, caused by Erysiphe necator, are mainly triggered by the ascospores produced in overwintered chasmothecia. Growers in northern Italy usually control the disease with fixed-interval fungicide applications. A warning system was developed for early-season powdery mildew control based on (i) short-term weather forecasts, (ii) a model that simulates the severity of each E. necator ascosporic infection, and (iii) a mobile phone short-message system. This warning system was evaluated in six vineyards in northern Italy from 2006 to 2008, between bud break of vines and early berry development; an unsprayed control was compared with "low-risk" and "high-risk" model-driven sprays and a calendar-based "grower" spray program. Use of the warning system reduced disease severity on leaves and bunches compared with the unsprayed control and resulted in the same level of control of powdery mildew as the grower's spray program, with reduced fungicide applications and costs. On average, 5.7 sprays were applied following the grower's spray program (with an average cost of 221 €/ha/year); use of the warning system reduced fungicide applications by 36% (low-risk program, saving of 56 €/ha/year) or 75% (high-risk program, saving of 161 €/ha/year).