Mt. Momol et al., INTERNAL MOVEMENT OF ERWINIA-AMYLOVORA THROUGH SYMPTOMLESS APPLE SCION TISSUES INTO THE ROOTSTOCK, Plant disease, 82(6), 1998, pp. 646-650
Shoot tips of potted Empire and Golden Delicious trees on the suscepti
ble dwarfing rootstock M.26 in the greenhouse were injected with inocu
lum containing 5 x 10(9) CFU/ml Erwinia amylovora. At intervals after
inoculation, trees were sampled at increments between the shoot tip an
d the roots by excising stem segments. Segments were ground in phospha
te buffer and assayed for the presence of E. amylovora by plating on s
emi-selective medium and by a polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based de
tection method. Eleven days after inoculation, E. amylovora was detect
ed by PCR in symptomless scion tissue >50 cm below the shoot-tip in Em
pire and Golden Delicious, and in 2-year-old tissue in Golden Deliciou
s. By 21 days, E. amylovora was detected in the M.26 rootstock of Empi
re trees, and by 41 days in the M.26 rootstock of Golden Delicious. In
a similar experiment the following year, Empire trees on M.26 rootsto
ck were inoculated with E. amylovora at early (16 May), mid-(11 June),
and late (6 July) phenophase of shoots. Three weeks after inoculation
, E. amylovora was detected by PCR from M.26 rootstocks of five of six
plants inoculated at the late phenophase, compared to zero of six pla
nts inoculated at the early or mid-phenophase. Late-season fire blight
infections of the scion may be particularly hazardous for the health
of the rootstock.