Spatial distribution of Synchytrium endobioticum in the soil
Studies were carried out in Newfoundland, Canada, on the spatial distribution of resting spores of Synchytrium endobioticum (EPPO A2 quarantine pest) in naturally infested soils. Common observation usually shows that the disease is discontinuous in infested soils but very few studies have been done on this subject. Three experiments were done in two fields. Soil samples were taken according to a defined grid and the spore population was estimated. Results showed that no particular pattern of aggregation emerged. The aggregates appear to follow a random pattern of distribution. The authors reviewed the possible means of dispersal of the disease (biological, edaphic and cultural) and they concluded that this apparently random pattern of distribution was most likely explained by gall production and release of spores from these galls.
Sources
Hampson, M.C.; Coombes, J.W. (1996) Spatial distribution of Synchytrium endobioticum, the cause of potato wart disease, in field soil.
Plant Disease, 80(9), 1006-1010.