© Benaki Phytopathological Institute
Hellenic Plant Protection Journal - Special Issue
22
lates were identified at a species level as
A.
niger
(65.5%) or
A. tubingensis
(34.5%) using
the Restriction Fragment Length Polymor-
phism (RFLP) technique.
Penicillium
spp. iso-
lates were identified at a species level after
sequencing of the internal transcribed spac-
er (ITS) regions of ribosomal DNA (rDNA).
The
Penicillium
spp. isolates obtained from
fruit with pre-harvest rots were identified as
either
P. adametzioides
or
P. brevicompactum
at similar frequencies.
Penicillium
spp. iso-
lates obtained from fruit with post-harvest
rot were all identified as
P. adametzioides.
To
the best of our knowledge, this is the first re-
port of
P. adametzioides
and
P. brevicompac-
tum
causing pre- or post-harvest fruit rot of
pomegranate worldwide. These results, to-
gether with those anticipated from new
samplings conducted during 2012, will pro-
vide significant and useful information for
the implementation of successful fruit-rot
control measures.
Susceptibility of cultivated solanaceous plants and olive to
Verticillium
dahliae
isolated from a new host, the weed
Solanum elaeagnifolium
A.L. L
AGOPODI
1
, J. K
ASHEFI
2
, H. N
IKOLAIDIS
1
and N. F
RYDAS
1
1
Plant Pathology Laboratory, School of Agriculture, Aristotle University of
Thessaloniki, GR-541 24 Thessaloniki, Greece.
2
USDA ARS European Biological
Control Laboratories, Thessaloniki, Greece
The rapidly expanding weed
Solanum elae-
agnifolium
(commonly ‘germanos’) is con-
sidered to constitute one of the most per-
sistent problems in the fields of Greece and
southern Europe. The fungus
Verticillium
dahliae
is a difficult to control soil-borne
fungus with global distribution, that was re-
cently isolated from
S. elaeagnifolium
plants
exhibiting wilt symptoms. In the present re-
search the pathogenicity of
V. dahliae,
isolat-
ed from germanos was studied on the weed
itself, on eggplant cv. Langada, on pep-
per cv. P13, as well as on olive cv. Chalkidi-
kis, Amfissis and Koroneiki. The results con-
firmed the pathogenicity of the fungus on
the weed, eggplant, pepper, and olive. This
is the first report worldwide that the inva-
sive in Europe weed species
S. elaeagnifoli-
um
is a host for
V. dahliae
. There is an urgent
need to find successful means to control this
weed, as not only can it lead to the exclu-
sion of cultivated species from fields, but it
can also increase the levels of fungal inocu-
lum in the soil.
First report of palm rot disease of
Phoenix
spp. caused by
Neodeightonia
phoenicum
in Greece
E.K. L
IGOXIGAKIS
1
, E.A. M
ARKAKIS
2
, I.A. P
APAIOANNOU
3
and M.A. T
YPAS
3
1
Laboratory of Plant Pathology, Plant Protection Institute, National Agricultural
Research Foundation, GR-710 03 Heraklion, Crete, Greece.
2
Laboratory of Plant
Pathology, School of Agricultural Technology, Technological Educational Institute
of Crete, GR-710 04 Heraklion, Crete, Greece.
3
Department of Genetics and
Biotechnology, Faculty of Biology, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens,
Panepistimiopolis, GR-157 01 Athens, Greece
In July 2007, a severe palm rot disease resem-
blingDiplodiadiseasewasobservedon
Phoe-
nix dactylifera
in Heraklion (Crete, Greece).
Similar symptoms were later observed on
P.
canariensis
. Initial pale elongated spots were
gradually converted to dark brown streaks
extending along the leaf base and rachis.
Decay and premature death of leaves was
followed by terminal bud necrosis, and leaf
blight and stalk rot were also observed. A fil-
amentous fungus was consistently isolated
from leaf base necrotic lesions; according
