Abstract‘Bois noir’ (BN) and flavescence dorèe (FD), the two main diseases of the grapevine yellows complex associated with genetically distinct phytoplasmas, have a complex epidemiology including multiple insect vectors and reservoir plants. This study investigated the presence of BN and FD phytoplasmas in nine groundcover plant species commonly utilized for inter-row vineyard green manure in Franciacorta (North Italy). The activities conducted in 2020 included monitoring and sampling groundcover plant species and symptomatic grapevines in September, and phytoplasma identification and typing by amplification and sequence analyses of stamp and map genes. Molecular analyses identified BN phytoplasma (strains carrying the stamp gene sequence variants St5, St19, St30) and FD phytoplasma (strains carrying the map gene sequence variant M54) in 72% and 28% of symptomatic grapevines, respectively. BN phytoplasma strains St5 and St30 were found also in Eruca sativa, Vicia sativa, and Polygonum fagopyrum. FD phytoplasma strain M54 was found also in Vicia faba, Trifolium incarnatum, and Polygonum fagopyrum. These results reinforced the evidence of the increasing range of BN and FD phytoplasma alternative plant hosts and suggested a criterium for the selection of the groundcover plant species utilized for green manure, excluding the ones putatively involved in BN and FD diffusion.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.