Etiology and epidemiology of botryosphaeria dieback

• Grant number: 21/08903-6
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• Start date: November 01, 2021
• End date: October 31, 2023
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Agronomy - Plant Health
• Principal Investigator: Marcel Bellato Spósito
• Grantee: Marcel Bellato Spósito
• Host Institution: Escola Superior de Agricultura Luiz de Queiroz (ESALQ). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Piracicaba , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Wood diseases are among the main diseases of vines in the world, and they become more prevalent as vineyards age, threatening the sustainability of viticulture. Among the wood diseases, the Botryosphaeria dieback is one of the main ones. Boryosphaeriaceae species infect vines mainly through injuries caused by the annual production pruning, after the vines' dormancy period. The disease causes serious damage in the wine-growing regions of Rio Grande do Sul. In the State of São Paulo, there has been an increase in the production of grapes for winemaking, mainly due to the double pruning technique, in which the vines are pruned at the end of winter to promote vegetative growth and a second pruning in summer to promote production. This recently adopted practice increases the possibility of infection by the pathogen due to the number of pruning and the environmental conditions in which these pruning are carried out. Knowledge of the environmental conditions necessary for conidia germination and pathogen infection to occur, as well as the period in which injuries caused by production pruning are susceptible to infection and the susceptibility between the varieties and species of vines produced in Brazil, is important information for understanding the epidemiology of the Botryosphaeria dieback and, consequently, directing an assertive control of the disease. (AU)