Fungi inhabiting healthy grapevine canes (Vitis spp.) in some nurseries

The purpose of this study, conducted in the years 2000 - 2002, was to identify fungi species colonizing apparently healthy canes and to investigate whether canes storage modify the quantitative and qualitative composition of these fungi. The plant material was collected from 5 commercial plantations growing in various regions of Poland, taking into consideration 8 cultivars which were the most frequently cultivated. From each plantation and cultivar 20 apparently healthy canes were randomly sampled in two terms: before storage - November/December (term I) and 3-4 months after storage - February/March (term II). The results showed that from asymptomatic canes 2746 isolates of fungi belonging to 23 species were obtained, but the majority of them origined from canes analysed after storage. It was found that P. viticola is able to live latently within grapevine tissue in Polish conditions because isolates of this fungus from visually healty canes the all studied plantations and terms were obtained. Among the other fungi species inhabiting grapevine canes Alternaria alternata and Fusarium spp. dominated. Moreover, both in term I and term II Botrytis cinerea, Phoma spp., Epicoccum purpurascens and Cladosporium cladosporioides were frequently isolated, whereas fungi from the genus Acremonium only in the term I. Each time isolates of Trichoderma spp. and Gliocladium spp. were also obtained. Inhabitation of grapevine canes by various fungi species shown in the present experiment indicate the danger of pathogens spread with propagation material on the new plantations