Characterization of grapevine rugose wood disease sources from Italy

A collection of 27 sources of grapevine rugose wood (RW) disease from a viticultural. region in northern Italy was analyzed by graft-inoculating vines of three selective Vitis indicators (V. rupestris cv. St. George, V. berlandieri x V. riparia cv. Kober 5BB, and hybrid cv. LN 33). On the basis of stem reactivity, different groups were identified among the selected RW inoculum sources: nine isolates induced pitting only on cv. St. George, whereas four induced grooving only on cv. Kober 5BB. These two groups were classified as isolates of rupestris stem pitting and Kober stem grooving. Three of the remaining isolates induced wood abnormalities on cvs. LN 33 and Kober 5BB, seven induced wood abnormalities on cvs. St. George and Kober 5BB, and four induced symptoms on all three indicators. These groups may represent RW sources with various disease combinations. RW-affected grapevine clones used as inoculum sources also were tested for virus infections by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). ELISA revealed the presence of grapevine fleck virus, grapevine leafroll-associated closterovirus I and 3, and grapevine trichovirus A. These viruses infected most of the selected RW sources. However, eight of the latter were ELISA-negative. The findings are discussed, and the biological and etiological complexity of the RW phenomena in grapevine is confirmed.