Metabolites produced by agents of dieback of grapevine in Sicily: Lasiodiplodia mediterranea, Neofusicoccum parvum and N. vitifusiforme

Botryosphaeria dieback was recently reported in West Sicilian vineyards. The disease complex was only associated with isolates of genus Lasiodiplodia in 2007 and together with Diplodia seriata, Neofusicoccum parvum and Neofusicoccum vitifusiforme, this latest reported for the first time on Vitis vinifera in Italy. Moreover, a representative isolate of each species was inoculated on green shoots and fulfilled Koch’s postulates, although the lengths of vascular discolourations were variable depending on the species. As well as the other GTD causal agents, the expression of foliar symptoms (pale colour along the margins and between veins) was also occasional in Sicily, it was hypothesized that…