First report of ‘Candidatus Phytoplasma phoenicium’ in Türkiye
‘Candidatus Phytoplasma phoenicium’ (EPPO A1 List) is associated with almond witches' broom in Lebanon and Iran.
Leaves of symptomatic almond trees (Prunus dulcis) were collected from the almond production areas in İlhan village (province of Şanlıurfa, Southeastern Anatolia region) in Türkiye. The trees showed symptoms such as witches' broom, stunting, shortening of the internodes and early foliation. The detection and identification of the pathogen was done by a two-step PCR (direct and nested) test followed by sequencing. This is the first report of ‘Candidatus Phytoplasma phoenicium’ on almond in Türkiye.
The situation of ‘Candidatus Phytoplasma phoenicium’ in Türkiye can be described as follows: Present, not widely distributed.
Sources
Akkurak H, Güldür ME, Dikilitas M, Karakas S, Alfaifi MY, Shati AA, Sayyed RZ (2024) Molecular characterization of ‘Candidatus Phytoplasma phoenicium’ infecting almond (Prunus dulcis) and evaluation of biochemical defenses produced in the plants. Journal of Phytopathology 172(1), e13260.