OnlineFirst Articles
EUPHRESCO III-Special Issue on Plant Health Priorities-RESEARCH PAPERS

Pseudomonas avellanae causing European hazelnut decline in Serbia

PDF
  • Tatjana POPOVIĆ MILOVANOVIĆ,
  • Stefania LORETI,
  • Predrag MILOVANOVIĆ,
  • Aleksandra JELUŠIĆ,
  • Renata ILIČIĆ,
  • Erica CESARI ,
  • Marco SCORTICHINI
Tatjana POPOVIĆ MILOVANOVIĆ
Institute for Plant Protection and Environment, Teodora Drajzera 9, 11040 Belgrade, Serbia
Stefania LORETI
CREA - Research Centre for Plant Protection and Certification, Via Carlo Giuseppe Bertero 22, 00156 Roma, Italy
Predrag MILOVANOVIĆ
Agrounik doo, Krnješevačka BB, 22310 Šimanovci, Serbia
Aleksandra JELUŠIĆ
University of Belgrade, Institute for Multidisciplinary Research, Kneza Višeslava 1, 11030 Belgrade, Serbia
Renata ILIČIĆ
University of Novi Sad, Faculty of Agriculture, Trg Dositeja Obradovića 8, 21000 Novi Sad, Serbia
Erica CESARI
CREA - Research Centre for Plant Protection and Certification, Via Carlo Giuseppe Bertero 22, 00156 Roma, Italy
Marco SCORTICHINI
CREA - Research Centre for Olive, Fruit and Citrus Crops, Via di Fioranello, 52, I-00134 Roma, Italy
DOI: https://doi.org/10.36253/phyto-16806
Categories

Published 2026-03-23

Keywords

  • Corylus avellana,
  • Canker,
  • Decline,
  • MLSA,
  • rep-PCR

How to Cite

[1]
POPOVIĆ MILOVANOVIĆ T., “Pseudomonas avellanae causing European hazelnut decline in Serbia”, Phytopathol. Mediterr., Mar. 2026.

Copyright (c) 2026 Tatjana POPOVIĆ MILOVANOVIĆ, Stefania LORETI, Predrag MILOVANOVIĆ, Aleksandra JELUŠIĆ, Renata ILIČIĆ, Erica CESARI , Marco SCORTICHINI

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Crossref
Scopus
Google Scholar
Europe PMC

Abstract

The plant pathogenic bacterium Pseudomonas avellanae, the causal agent of decline and dieback of hazelnut (Corylus avellana), affects vascular tissues of host trees and leads to the rapid wilting of leaves. Severe damage to hazelnut orchards has been reported in northern Greece and central Italy. In 2024, hazelnut trees (cv. Tonda di Giffoni) showed symptoms of rapid leaf wilting and brown discolouration of vascular tissues in the branches. Isolations resulted in convex, levan-positive, mucoid, cream-whitish bacterial colonies on Nutrient agar (plus 5% sucrose), which LOPAT results (+---+) identified the bacteria as Pseudomonas syringae group Ia. Preliminary identification of isolates was achieved using specific conventional PCR (cPCR) for P. avellanae. Further genetic identification and characterization was carried out using multilocus sequence analysis (MLSA) using five housekeeping genes (gyrB-gapA-gltA-rpoD-recG). Repetitive ERIC-PCR fingerprinting of two Serbian isolates from hazelnut, 13 Italian, and one Greek isolate of P. avellanae revealed three distinct molecular patterns. The Serbian isolates clustered with the Italian strains, while the Greek strain formed a more distinct group. Pathogenicity assessments, carried out by inoculating 1-year-old hazelnut plants (Tonda di Giffoni), resulted in the development of necrosis at the inoculation sites 10 d post-inoculation, which reached lengths 15-20 cm longitudinally along the stems within 2 months. The inoculated bacterium was re-isolated from the stems of inoculated plants. This study highlights the emerging threat of P. avellanae to hazelnut production, with significant implications for the European hazelnut industry. Spread of this pathogen across regions, and the potential impacts on orchard health, emphasize the need for enhanced monitoring and disease management strategies.

PDF

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

  1. Hwang M.S., Morgan R.L., Sarkar S.F., Wang P.W., Guttman D.S., 2005. Phylogenetic characterization of virulence and resistance phenotypes of Pseudomonas syringae. Applied and Environmental Microbiology 71(9): 5182–5191. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1128/AEM.71.9.5182-5191.2005
  2. Iličić R., Jelušić A., Marković S., Barać G., Bagi F., Popović T., 2022. Pseudomonas cerasi, the new wild cherry pathogen in Serbia and the potential use of recG helicase in bacterial identification. Annals of Applied Biology 180(1): 140–150. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/aab.12717
  3. Kumar S., Stecher G., Suleski M., Sanderford M., Sharma S., Tamura K. 2024. MEGA12: Molecular Evolutionary Genetic Analysis version 12 for adaptive and green computing. Molecular Biology and Evolution, 41(12), msae263. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msae263
  4. Lelliott R.A., Billing E., Hayward A.C., 1966. A determinative scheme for the fluorescent plant pathogenic Pseudomonads. Journal of Applied Bacteriology 29: 470–489. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2672.1966.tb03499.x
  5. Loreti S., Gallelli A., 2002. Rapid and specific detection of virulent Pseudomonas avellanae strains by PCR amplification. European Journal of Plant Pathology 108(3): 237–244. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1015170625547
  6. Louws F.J., Fulbright D.W., Stephens C.T., De Bruijn F.J., 1994. Specific genomic fingerprints of phytopathogenic Xanthomonas and Pseudomonas pathovars and strains generated with repetitive sequences and PCR. Applied and Environmental Microbiology 60(7): 2286–2295. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1128/aem.60.7.2286-2295.1994
  7. Marcelletti S., Scortichini M., 2015. Comparative genomic analyses of multiple Pseudomonas strains infecting Corylus avellana trees reveal the occurrence of two genetic clusters with both common and distinctive virulence and fitness traits. PLoS One 10(7): e0131112. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0131112
  8. Molnar T.J., 2011. Corylus. In Wild crop relatives: genomic and breeding resources: forest trees, Springer Berlin Heidelberg, pp. 15–48. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-21250-5_2
  9. Nicoletti R., Petriccione M., Curci M., Scortichini M., 2022. Hazelnut–associated bacteria and their implications in crop management. Horticulturae 8(12): 1195. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae8121195
  10. OEPP/EPPO, 2010. EPPO Standard PM 7/100(1): Rep–PCR tests for identification of bacteria. EPPO Bulletin 40(3): 365–368. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2338.2010.02409.x
  11. Paunović S.M., Leposavić A., Milinković M., Karaklajić–Stajić Ž., Tomić J., Rilak B., 2020. Current state and prospects of nut fruit species growing in the world and Republic of Serbia. Journal of Mountain Agriculture on the Balkans 23(1): 126–139.
  12. Popović Milovanović T., Kosovac A., Jelušić A., Scortichini M., Trkulja N., Stanković S., Iličić R. 2025. Genetic diversity and virulence traits of Pseudomonas syringae pv. syringae isolated from various hosts in Serbia. Annals of Applied Biology 186(3): 334–348. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/aab.12972
  13. Popović T., Jelušić A., Dimkić I., Stanković S., Poštić D., Aleksić G., Veljović Jovanović S., 2019. Molecular characterization of Pseudomonas syringae pv. coriandricola and biochemical changes attributable to the pathological response on its hosts carrot, parsley, and parsnip. Plant Disease 103(12): 3072–3082. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1094/PDIS-03-19-0674-RE
  14. Psallidas P.G., 1987. The problem of bacterial canker of hazelnut in Greece caused by Pseudomonas syringae pv. avellanae. Bulletin OEPP/EPPO Bulletin 17: 257–261. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2338.1987.tb00036.x
  15. Range H., 2008. Pseudomonas avellanae (Psallidas) Janse et al. Bacterial canker of hazelnut (Corylus avellana). http://www.moseslab.csb.utoronto.ca/alan/P_avellanae_FactSheet.pdf
  16. Sarkar S.F., Guttman D.S., 2004. Evolution of the core genome of Pseudomonas syringae, a highly clonal, endemic plant pathogen. Applied and Environmental Microbiology 70(4): 1999–2012. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1128/AEM.70.4.1999-2012.2004
  17. Scortichini M., 1998. Response of Corylus avellana germplasm to artificial inoculation with Pseudomonas avellanae (Psallidas) Janse et al. Agricultural Medicine 128: 153–156.
  18. Scortichini M., 2000. The problem caused by Pseudomonas avellanae on hazelnut in Italy. In V International Congress on Hazelnut, 503–508. DOI: https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2001.556.73
  19. Scortichini M., Marchesi U., Dettori M.T., Angelucci L., Rossi M.P., Morone C., 2000. Genetic and pathogenic diversity of Pseudomonas avellanae strains isolated from Corylus avellana trees in north–west Italy, and comparison with strains from other regions. European Journal of Plant Pathology 106(2): 147–154. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1008726624530
  20. Scortichini M., Natalini E., Marchesi U., 2006. Evidence for separate origins of the two Pseudomonas avellanae lineages. Plant Pathology 55(3): 451–457. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-3059.2006.01352.x
  21. Scortichini M., Tropiano F.G., 1994. Severe outbreak of Pseudomonas syringae pv. avellanae on hazelnut in Italy. Journal of Phytopathology 140: 65–70. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1439-0434.1994.tb00177.x
  22. Stecher G., Suleski M., Tao Q., Tamura K., Kumar S., 2025. MEGA 12.1: Cross–Platform Release for macOS and Linux Operating Systems. Journal of Molecular Evolution 1–5. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00239-025-10287-z
  23. Tamura K., Nei M., 1993. Estimation of the number of nucleotide substitutions in the control region of mitochondrial DNA in humans and chimpanzees. Molecular Biology and Evolution 10(3), 512–526.
  24. Turco S., Zuppante L., Drais M.I., Mazzaglia A., 2022. Dressing like a pathogen: comparative analysis of different Pseudomonas genomospecies wearing different features to infect Corylus avellana. Journal of Phytopathology 170: 504–516. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/jph.13101
  25. Yıldırım Ç., Bozoğlu M., Urago G.G. 2024. Türkiye’s Competitive Power in the World Hazelnut Market. Applied Fruit Science 66: 921–928. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10341-024-01053-4

Most read articles by the same author(s)