F. Halleen

Agricultural Research Council, South Africa | ARC · Division of Plant Protection (Infruitec/Nietvoorbij)

Grapevine trunk disease fungi infect vines through openings, primarily pruning wounds. The main objective of this study was to understand the role of sucker wounds and wounds made by the removal of green shoots from the stems of potted grapevines as potential points of infection for grapevine trunk disease pathogens. Six wine and four table grape v...

Rootstock cuttings infected with latent Grapevine Trunk Diseases (GTD's) pathogens are a major problem for nurseries. These fungal pathogens include several species of the genera Phaeoacremonium, Phaeomoniella, Cadophora, Dactylonectria, Ilyonectria, Diaporthe and the family Botryosphaeriaceae. Infected rootstock cuttings can cause losses of up to...

Phaeoacremonium minimum is an important esca and Petri disease pathogen that causes dieback of grapevines in South Africa. Little is known regarding the reproductive strategy of the pathogen. Sexual reproduction could lead to a better adaptation of the pathogen to disease management strategies by combining alleles through recombination. The study a...

Honeybush (Cyclopia spp.) is an indigenous, leguminous member of the Cape fynbos biome growing in the coastal winter rainfall districts of the Western and Eastern Cape Provinces of South Africa (Joubert et al. 2011). Honeybush is used for the production of herbal teas and is harvested from wild-growing and cultivated plantations (du Toit et al. 199...

This paper is the fourth contribution in the Genera of Phytopathogenic Fungi (GOPHY) series. The series provides morphological descriptions and information about the pathology, distribution, hosts and disease symptoms, as well as DNA barcodes for the taxa covered. Moreover, 12 whole-genome sequences for the type or new species in the treated genera...

Pseudophaeomoniella globosa has recently been identified as a pathogen contributing to olive trunk diseases in South Africa. Little is known regarding the biology and epidemiology of this pathogen. The aim of this study was to investigate whether olive pruning debris act as an inoculum source of Ps. globosa in established orchards. A nested species...

In recent years, the number of apple trees affected by Botryosphaeria cankers and dieback has considerably increased in central Chile. This study aimed to identify the species of Botryosphaeriaceae associated with canker and dieback symptoms, estimate disease incidence and distributions, and study their pathogenicity and virulence on apple and othe...

A recent olive trunk disease survey performed in the Western Cape Province, South Africa, identified several fungi associated with olive trunk disease symptoms, including species of Basidiomycota, Botryosphaeriaceae, Coniochaetaceae, Calosphaeriaceae, Diaporthaceae, Diatrypaceae, Phaeomoniellaceae, Phaeosphaeriaceae, Symbiotaphrinaceae, Togniniacea...

A recent olive trunk disease survey performed in the Western Cape Province, South Africa, identified several fungi associated with olive trunk disease symptoms, including species of Basidiomycota, Botryosphaeriaceae, Coniochaetaceae, Calosphaeriaceae, Diaporthaceae, Diatrypaceae, Phaeomoniellaceae, Phaeosphaeriaceae, Symbiotaphrinaceae, Togniniacea...

Dieback and canker of young stone fruit trees can cause suboptimal growth and even death under severe conditions. One source of inoculum of canker pathogens could be through nursery trees harboring latent infections that would not be visible to inspections done according to the deciduous fruit scheme. The objectives of this study were to identify t...

Management of black foot disease (BFD) of grapevines is difficult due to limited control options. Biological control fungi, in particular Trichoderma spp., hold potential as part of integrated management of BFD. Trichoderma atroviride, T. fertile, T. harzianum and T. virens were evaluated in vitro against four common BFD pathogens in South Africa,...

Several Trichoderma species can act as biocontrol agents and hold the potential to control soilborne diseases through different modes of action. Little is known about the colonization pattern of Trichoderma atroviride in grapevine roots and activation of induced systemic resistance in planta. A laboratory model was developed to assess root coloniza...

Novel species of fungi described in this study include those from various countries as follows: Australia, Austroboletus asper on soil, Cylindromonium alloxyli on leaves of Alloxylon pinnatum, Davidhawksworthia quintiniae on leaves of Quintinia sieberi, Exophiala prostantherae on leaves of Prostanthera sp., Lactifluus lactiglaucus on soil, Linterom...

Trunk disease fungal pathogens reduce olive production globally by causing cankers, dieback, and other decline-related symptoms on olive trees. Very few fungi have been reported in association with olive dieback and decline in South Africa. Many of the fungal species reported from symptomatic olive trees in other countries have broad host ranges an...

Several fungal trunk pathogens are associated with olive trunk diseases in South Africa. Little is known regarding the inoculum sources of these pathogens in the olive industry and no specific management strategies are in place. The aim of this study was to investigate the status of olive nurseries in South Africa, with regard to the presence of tr...

BACKGROUND Black foot disease (BFD) is one of the main fungal diseases associated with young grapevine decline. Trichoderma holds the potential to be used as biocontrol agent against this disease, though variable success of colonization were found when applied to nursery vines in previous studies. Therefore, field experiments were established to ev...

This is a continuation of a series focused on providing a stable platform for the taxonomy of phytopathogenic fungi and organisms. This paper focuses on 25 phytopathogenic genera: Alternaria, Capnodium, Chaetothyrina, Cytospora, Cyphellophora, Cyttaria, Dactylonectria, Diplodia, Dothiorella, Entoleuca, Eutiarosporella, Fusarium, Ilyonectria, Lasiod...

Canker and wood rot pathogens cause dieback and, in severe cases, the death of young apple trees. Recently, a higher occurrence of cankers was observed on 1-year-old apple trees in the Western Cape Province of South Africa. This study aimed to assess the phytosanitary status of nursery trees and propagation material as possible inoculum sources for...

This paper represents the second contribution in the Genera of Phytopathogenic Fungi (GOPHY) series. The series provides morphological descriptions and information regarding the pathology, distribution, hosts and disease symptoms for the treated genera. In addition, primary and secondary DNA barcodes for the currently accepted species are inlcuded....

Diatrypaceae species collected from 33 woody hosts occurring near vineyards were characterised. Plants showed symptoms of dieback, necrosis and cankers. Phylogenetic analyses based on ITS-rDNA and the b-tubulin gene separated the 265 isolates obtained into 14 species. The five most frequently encountered species, Cryptovalsa ampelina, Eutypa cremea...

A protocol is offered as a guideline for managers of rootstock mother grapevines, and as a potential research framework for to reduce infections by Grapevine Trunk Disease (GTD) pathogens in rootstock mother vines and cuttings. Latent infections by GTD pathogens in rootstock cuttings are a major source of the pathogens in grafted nursery vines and...

Diaporthe species cause Phomopsis cane and leaf spot as well as Phomopsis dieback on grapevines. Symptoms of Phomopsis dieback have increasingly been observed over the past few years. In order to assess the current status of Diaporthe on grapevines in the Western Cape Province of South Africa, isolations were made from dormant grafted nursery vines...

Conference paper: Microorganisms in grapevine propagation

Stone fruit trees (Prunus spp.) are economically important fruit trees cultivated in South Africa. These trees are often grown in close proximity to vineyards and are to a large extent affected by the same trunk disease pathogens as grapevines. The aim of the present study was to determine whether stone fruit trees are inhabited by Diatrypaceae spe...

Nineteen species of Phaeoacremonium have been associated with grapevines in South Africa, of which only six species have been confirmed as pathogens through pathogenicity tests conducted on field-grown grapevines. This study determined the pathogenic status of ten Phaeoacremonium spp. recently found for the first time on South African grapevines. T...

Black foot disease (BFD) and crown and root rot (CRR) are important soilborne diseases that affect young grapevines in nurseries and vineyards. A 3-year survey (2013-2015) of five open-field grapevine nurseries was conducted in the Western Cape Province of South Africa. The survey involved the isolation of BFD and CRR pathogens from grafted rootsto...

Grapevine production by classical grafting methods and in commercial scale emerged over 130 years. This system remained handmade until the mid-1950s, when the first international certification programs aimed at obtaining mother plants with high viral sanity emerged. The necessity to increase the scale of production on industrial model and plant mat...

Recent studies in grape-growing areas including Australia, California, and Spain have revealed an extensive diversity of Diatrypaceae species on grapevines showing dieback symptoms and cankers. However, in South Africa, little is known regarding the diversity of these species in vineyards. The aim of this study was, therefore, to identify and chara...

Grape powdery mildew, caused by Uncinula necator, is the most widespread and destructive disease of grapevine. The disease can be found in most grape-growing areas of the world, including the tropics. In South Africa, grape powdery mildew was first reported in 1880, and since then has become the most important disease of grapevine. The disease can...

Little is known about the mode of survival and sources of primary inoculum of Uncinula necator, the causal pathogen of grapevine powdery mildew, in vineyards in the Western Cape province. A study was therefore undertaken to determine whether cleistothecia and flag shoots are formed on vines in local vineyards. Flag shoots were found shortly after b...

CITATION: Halleen, F., Holz, G. & Pringle, K. L. 2000. Resistance in uncinula necator to triazole fungicides in South African grapevines. South African Journal of Enology & Viticulture, 21(2):71-80, doi:10.21548/21-2-2213.

Cell suspension cultures of Vitis vinifera cv. Dauphine berries were used to study the response to the vascular pathogen, Eutypa lata, in comparison with a biological control agent, Trichoderma atroviride, that was previously shown to be effective in pruning wound protection. The expression of genes coding for enzymes of the phenylpropanoid pathway...

Disease symptoms such as branch and twig dieback, decay of twigs, branches, and trunks, as well as cankers on trunks were observed on poplar trees (Populus alba L.) growing next to vineyards in Paarl, Porterville, and Stellenbosch in Western Cape Province, South Africa. In August 2015, trees showing these symptoms were collected and internal sympto...

Young grapevine plants with decline and wood necrosis symptoms were collected from vineyards and nurseries in the Apulia and Molise regions, Italy, from 2013 to 2015. Isolations of fungi were prepared from 45 diseased grapevine plants, and the cultures were identified. Several species commonly associated with Petri disease, Botryosphaeria dieback,...

Nineteen Phaeoacremonium species are currently known in South Africa. These have been reported from grapevines, fruit trees, fynbos twig litter and arthropods. In other countries some of these Phaeoacremonium species are also known from hosts such as European olive, quince and willow that commonly occur in the Western Cape Province of South Africa,...

The aim of this study was to compare 11 treatment regimes (TR) in grapevine nurseries in order to eradicate trunk pathogens. Grapevine propagation material was subjected to treatments before cold storage, before and after grafting, before planting and after uprooting. Isolations were made from roots, rootstocks and graft unions of uprooted vines. N...

Phaeomoniella chlamydospora is an important fungal pathogen associated with esca and Petri diseases of grapevine (Vitis vinifera) worldwide. Infected propagation material has been identified as a major means of spread (Fourie and Halleen 2002), but little information is available about the vine-to-vine spread of P. chlamydospora. The existence of a...

Persimmon trees with dieback symptoms and cankers were observed in three production areas in Western Cape Province in South Africa. Isolations were made from diseased branches, cankers, and pruning wounds as well as fungal fruiting bodies on dead branches and old pruning wounds. Several trunk disease pathogens were identified based on morphological...

Grapevine trunk diseases (GTDs) are caused by a broad range of taxonomically unrelated fungi, which occur wherever grapes are grown and are the main biotic factor limiting vineyard productivity and longevity (Bertsch et al. 2013). GTDs cause untenable economic losses to the grapevine industry worldwide. For example, they are considered a “national...

A new species of Phellinus sensu stricto was isolated from diseased Vitis vinifera in the Northern Cape and Limpopo provinces of South Africa. Phellinus resupinatus is described here based on fruit body morphology, internal transcribed spacer (ITS) and large subunit (LSU) phylogenies. Phellinus resupinatus forms a well-supported clade closely relat...

The application of Trichoderma species on grapevine pruning wound surfaces reduces wound infection from trunk pathogens that cause grapevine decline. The aim of this study was to determine the efficacy of pruning wound treatments containing Trichoderma as influenced by the time of pruning and time of application following pruning. Cultivars Chenin...

Grapevine trunk diseases threaten the economic livelihood and lifespan of vineyards. One such disease, esca, involves the fungal colonisation and consequent blocking of vascular tissue, followed by tissue necrosis and eventual wood rot. Basidiomycetous fungi are the main causal agents of this wood rot and phylogenetic analysis group all South Afric...

Specimens found on non-grapevine hosts from which the three Fomitiporia capensis isolates (STEU 7806, STEU 7807 and STEU 7808) were isolated from (a) STEU 7806; host: Podocarpus sp. (from Jonkershoek state forest, Stellenbosch), (b) STEU 7807; host: Prunus cerasifera (from Botanical gardens, Stellenbosch), (c) STEU 7808; host: Ehretia rigida (from...

Esca disease is a problem on grapevines worldwide. This disease complex is characterised by several external and internal symptoms including foliar tiger-stripe chlorosis and necrosis, dieback, wood necrosis and white rot. The causal organisms of esca are primarily Phaeomoniella chlamydospora, several Phaeoacremonium species and basidiomycete speci...

Little is known about the pathogenicity and etiology of Hymenochaetales taxa associated with esca in South Africa. Ten South African Hymenochaetales taxa associated with esca in grapevine were subjected to basic enzyme assays to determine which ligninolytic enzymes were secreted by each taxon. In addition, a field trial was undertaken to determine...

In the protection of grapevine pruning wounds from trunk pathogen infection, fungicides provide mainly short term protection while biocontrol agents provide mainly long term protection. The integration of fungicide and biological wound protection could provide better wound protection, but is limited by the susceptibility of the biocontrol agents to...

Antibiosis has been shown to be an important mode of action by Trichoderma species used in grapevine pruning wound protection from infection by trunk pathogens. The major active compound, from Trichoderma isolates known to protect grapevine pruning wounds from trunk pathogen infection, was isolated and identified. The compound, a 6-pentyl α-pyrone...

Several factors affect the quantity and quality of grapevine production in Brazil. This includes the grapevine decline phenomenon and the various disease complexes associated with it. For example, in Brazil, there is very little knowledge about Esca and Petri disease and the distribution of the pathogens associated with it. The objective of this re...

Grapevine trunk disease threatens the economic livelihood and lifespan of vineyards. Eutypa dieback, Petri- and esca disease have been identified as the major disease complexes, and involve the colonisation and blocking of vascular tissue followed by wood rot. Fungal pathogens involved in the development of these diseases belong to the phyla Ascomy...

Arthropod mediated dispersal of pathogens is known in many cropping systems, but has never been demonstrated for grapevine trunk disease pathogens. Arthropods from vineyards were screened for the presence of pathogens associated with Petri disease and esca using cultural and molecular techniques. The ability of the most abundant pathogen-carrying s...

Wood rot of Oak (Quercus sp.) trees is caused by Basidiomycetous parasitic and/or saprophytic fungi. Affected trees display general decline as well as compromised structural integrity. This is most evident with the breaking of branches or even the failure of the main trunk during strong and gusty wind conditions. This is of concern in the Stellenbo...

Esca and petri diseases are important grapevine trunk diseases in South Africa and most other grape-producing countries. The causal pathogens are Phaeomoniella chlamydospora and several species of Phaeoacremonium. In total, 25 species of Phaeoacremonium have been isolated from grapevines of which seven species have been linked to Togninia teleomorp...

Esca disease of grapevine is a complex trunk disease consisting of several symptoms, one of which, white rot, has been found to be caused by various basidiomycetes within the order Hymenochaetales. During recent surveys of esca-related pathogens in South African vineyards, several unidentified basidiomycetes were isolated from white rot occurring i...

Several fungi have been shown to provide grapevine pruning wound protection from infection by trunk pathogens that cause cankers, die-back and premature decline. Of these Trichoderma spp. have been commercialised. Pruning wound protection of grapevine pruning wounds by Trichoderma spp. is largely attributed to pathogen antagonism and/or competition...

The generalist ascomycete fungus Eutypa lata causes Eutypa dieback of grapevine (Vitis vinifera) worldwide. To decipher the cosmopolitan distribution of this fungus, the population genetic structure of 17 geographic samples was investigated from four continental regions (Australia, California, Europe and South Africa), based on analysis of 293 isol...

During the period from 2001 to 2008, grapevines showing foliar and/or internal symptoms of esca were collected from various grape-growing regions in South Africa. Isolations were made from typical internal wood symptoms associated with esca, and fungal isolates were characterized by cultural growth patterns, morphology and phylogenetic inference. T...

Protecting grapevine pruning wounds by inoculating them with Trichoderma spp. can prevent infection from trunk disease pathogens. The growth and interactions of both, the biological control agent Trichoderma spp. and the vine pathogens, are not well understood. Green fluorescent protein (GFP)-labelled Trichoderma harzianum and red fluorescent prote...

Using Trichoderma species to protect grapevine pruning wounds from trunk disease pathogens is one of the options available for managing grapevine trunk diseases. The growth and persistence of Trichoderma species in the pruning wound and the resulting control effect may depend on intrinsic wound factors and hence may vary between cultivars. Cultivar...

In the past, only a few incidences of esca diseased grapevines were reported from the Slanghoek and Rawsonville areas of South Africa. The damage was believed to be of little importance and therefore the disease has not been studied in South Africa. In the present study, vines with internal or external symptoms of the esca disease complex were samp...

Grapevine trunk diseases, caused by a range of phytopathogenic fungi, represent a serious impediment to wine and table grape production wherever these crops are cultivated. Previous studies have shown that the distribution of these pathogens is influenced by climate and that they are associated with a variety of internal wood decay symptoms. Little...

Trunk diseases of grapevine are caused by numerous pathogens, including Eutypa lata, Phaeomoniella chlamydospora, and species of Botryosphaeriaceae (incl. Botryosphaeria and aggregate genera), Phomopsis and Phaeoacremonium. Since infections occur mainly through pruning wounds, that have been shown by previous research to stay susceptible for up to...

Eutypa lata and Phaeomoniella chlamydospora, as well as several species in Botryosphaeriaceae, Phomopsis and Phaeoacremonium are known trunk pathogens of grapevines, which use pruning wounds as infection portals. Duration of pruning wound susceptibility to some of these pathogens was largely unknown. To address this question, plants of the cv. Chen...

Several species in Botryosphaeriaceae have been associated with grapevine trunk diseases. To evaluate the effect of water stress on infection of grapevines by Botryosphaeriaceae spp., 1-year-old Shiraz/101-14 Mgt nursery grapevine plants were planted in plastic potting bags and placed outdoors under shade netting. Five weeks after planting, vines w...