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Susceptibility of Citrus germplasm to canker caused by Neofusicoccum parvum

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  • Giorgio GUSELLA,
  • Chiara CATALANO,
  • Bassma EL BAKKOURI,
  • Sebastiano SEMINARA,
  • Mario DI GUARDO,
  • Gaetano DISTEFANO,
  • Stefano LA MALFA,
  • Alessandra GENTILE,
  • Giancarlo POLIZZI
Giorgio GUSELLA
Department of Agriculture, Food and Environment (Di3A), University of Catania, via S. Sofia 100, 95123 Catania, Italy
Chiara CATALANO
Department of Agriculture, Food and Environment (Di3A), University of Catania, via S. Sofia 100, 95123 Catania, Italy
Bassma EL BAKKOURI
Department of Agriculture, Food and Environment (Di3A), University of Catania, via S. Sofia 100, 95123 Catania, Italy
Sebastiano SEMINARA
Department of Agriculture, Food and Environment (Di3A), University of Catania, via S. Sofia 100, 95123 Catania, Italy
Mario DI GUARDO
Department of Agriculture, Food and Environment (Di3A), University of Catania, via S. Sofia 100, 95123 Catania, Italy
Gaetano DISTEFANO
Department of Agriculture, Food and Environment (Di3A), University of Catania, via S. Sofia 100, 95123 Catania, Italy
Stefano LA MALFA
Department of Agriculture, Food and Environment (Di3A), University of Catania, via S. Sofia 100, 95123 Catania, Italy
Alessandra GENTILE
Department of Agriculture, Food and Environment (Di3A), University of Catania, via S. Sofia 100, 95123 Catania, Italy
Giancarlo POLIZZI
Department of Agriculture, Food and Environment (Di3A), University of Catania, via S. Sofia 100, 95123 Catania, Italy
DOI: https://doi.org/10.36253/phyto-17230
Categories

Published 2026-07-27

Keywords

  • Botryosphaeriaceae,
  • citrus gummosis,
  • phenotyping,
  • resistance,
  • detached twig assay,
  • in planta assay
    • ...More
    Less

How to Cite

[1]
G. GUSELLA, “Susceptibility of Citrus germplasm to canker caused by Neofusicoccum parvum”, Phytopathol. Mediterr., pp. 243–254, Jul. 2026.

Copyright (c) 2026 Giorgio GUSELLA, Chiara CATALANO, Bassma EL BAKKOURI, Sebastiano SEMINARA, Mario DI GUARDO, Gaetano DISTEFANO, Stefano LA MALFA, Alessandra GENTILE, Giancarlo POLIZZI

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

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Abstract

Citrus trees are important for fruit production, and canker pathogens can be constraints to tree productivity. In Italy, field surveys showed presence of different pathogens causing trunk and branch cankers, gummoses and shoot blight. Among these pathogens, Neofusicoccum parvum is aggressive and widely distributed. Susceptibility of 47 Citrus genotypes was assessed using detached twig assays and an in planta assessment. The detached twig assay identified mandarin as the most susceptible variety (mean lesion length = 3.80 cm), followed by citrumelo ‘Swingle’ (2.83 cm), and lemons (2.47 cm), whereas grapefruits (1.34 cm) and citrons (1.76 cm) had greatest levels of tolerance. These results were consistent with those obtained in the in planta assay, in which grapefruits showed greatest tolerance (mean lesion length = 1.24 cm), while the lemon cultivars ‘Monachello’ (7.32 cm) and ‘Femminello Siracusano 2Kr’ (6.48 cm) were confirmed as the most susceptible genotypes. This study provides the first overview assessment of susceptibility of different Citrus species to infection by N. parvum.

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