First report of ‘Candidatus Liberibacter solanacearum’ in Serbia
In Serbia, symptoms resembling those caused by ‘Candidatus Liberibacter solanacearum’ were first observed at the beginning of July 2020 in a commercial carrot (Daucus carota cv. Maestro) field in Begeč, in the southern part of the Bačka region, Vojvodina. Affected carrot plants showed symptoms of yellowing and reddish leaf discoloration. At the end of July, leaves became bronze and purplish; shoots and roots were stunted with pronounced proliferation. In some cases, damage was so extensive that it led to plant decay. In early July, disease incidence was of 0.5-1% but reached 10-15% in mid-August. 15 symptomatic and 5 asymptomatic plants were tested in the laboratory (PCR, sequencing). Results confirmed the presence of ‘Candidatus Liberibacter solanacearum’ in all symptomatic plants. The pathogen was not found in asymptomatic plants. It is noted that in 2014, one of the psyllid vectors of the disease, Bactericera trigonica, had been found for the first time in Serbia in a few localities, including Begeč.
The situation of ‘Candidatus Liberibacter solanacearum’ in Serbia can be described as follows: Present, restricted distribution (first found in 2020 in a commercial carrot field in Begeč, Bačka region).
Sources
Trkulja V, Mitrović P, Mihić Salapura J, Iličić R, Ćurković B, Đalović I, Popović T (2021) First report of ‘Candidatus Liberibacter solanacearum’ on carrot in Serbia. Plant Disease 105(4), p 1188. https://doi.org/10.1094/PDIS-11-20-2384-PDN