• Korean Journal of Agricultural and Forest Meteorology
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.305-317
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• 2022

To investigate the blossom infection risk of fire blight on pears, the program Maryblyt has been executed from 2018 to 2022 based on meteorological data from central-Korean cities where fire blight has occurred as well as from southern Korean cities where the disease has not yet occurred. In the past five years, years with the highest risk of pear blossom blight were 2022 and 2019. To identify the optimal time for spraying, we studied the spray mode according to the Maryblyt model and recommend spraying streptomycin on the day after a "High" warning and then one day before forecasted precipitation during the blossom period. Maryblyt also recommends to initiate surgical controls from mid-May for canker blight symptoms on pear trees owing to over-wintering canker in Korea. Web-cam pictures from pear orchards at Cheonan, Icheon, Sangju, and Naju during the flowering period of pear trees were used for comparing real data and constructing a phenological model. The actual starting dates of flowering at southern cities such as Sangju and Naju were consistently earlier than those calculated by the model. It is thus necessary to improve the forecasting model to include field risks by recording the actual flowering period and the first day of the fire blight symptoms, according to the farmers, as well as mist or dew-fall, which are not easily identifiable from meteorological records.

• Research in Plant Disease
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.23-38
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• 2023

The fire blight caused by Erwinia amylovora (Ea) is a devastating disease of Rosaceae plants, including commercially important apple and pear trees. Since the first report in Korea in May 2015, it has been spreading to neighboring regions gradually. Host plants can be infected by pollinators like bees, rainfall accompanied by wind, and cultural practices such as pruning. Many studies have revealed that wild Rosaceae plants such as Cotoneaster spp., Crataegus spp., Pyracantha spp., Prunus spp., and Sorbus spp. can be reservoirs of Ea in nature. However, wild Rosaceae plants in Korea have not been examined yet whether they are susceptible to fire blight. Therefore, the susceptibility to fire blight was examined with 25 species in 10 genera of wild Rosaceae plants, which were collected during 2020-2022, by artificial inoculation. Bacterial suspension (10⁸ cfu/ml) of Ea type strain TS3128 was inoculated artificially in flowers, leaves, stems, and fruits of each plant species, and development of disease symptoms were monitored. Moreover, the presence of Ea bacteria from inoculated samples were checked by conventional polymerase chain reaction. Total 14 species of wild Rosaceae plants showed disease symptoms of fire blight, and Ea bacteria were detected inside of inoculated plant parts. These results suggest that wild Rosaceae plants growing nearby commercial apple and pear orchards in Korea can be Ea reservoirs, and thus they should be monitored regularly to minimize the damage by Ea infection and spreading.

• Research in Plant Disease
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.79-81
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• 2023

During the nationwide survey of fire blight, the typical shoot blight symptoms were found on Korean mountain ash (Sorbus alnifolia) which was located near an orchard that produced fire blight on pear trees in Eumseong, Korea, May 2021. To identify the causal agent, we progressed isolation from the symptomatic leaves and shoots. Two white and mucoid colonies were isolated into the pure culture. Two isolates were identified as Erwinia amylovora according to the colony-polymerase chain reaction (PCR) with amsB primers and the phylogenetic tree using 16S rRNA sequences. To test of pathogenicity of two isolates, we inoculated immature pear fruits and understock of apple. We observed necrosis and oozes on immature pear fruits and shoot blight resulting in necrosis on apple shoots six days after inoculation. Colonies were recovered from the inoculated pears and apples, and identity was confirmed through colony PCR for amsB genes. To our knowledge, E. amylovora was first reported on Korean mountain ash native to South Korea.

• Research in Plant Disease
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.316-320
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• 2023

Recently, the domestic plant disease control policy for fire blight has been implemented partial control in addition to burial control. In this study, an on-site management survey was conducted targeting orchards that implemented partial disease control from 2019 to 2020 in order to find efficient implementation methods for partial disease control. As a result of an investigation into 22 pear and apple orchards in Cheonan and Chungju, 7 orchards were buried. The upper part of the cut infected plants was burned at 16 orchards and covered with plastic vinyl after lime treatment at 6 orchards. The lower stumps of cut infected plants were burned at 7 orchards and covered with plastic vinyl after lime treatment at 15 orchards. There were two orchards where suckers appeared on the stumps even though covers were applied. There was no infection by Erwinia amylovora in the suckers. The conservation condition of lime treatment was good, but warning signs were absent at 6 orchards. Most orchards treated the stumps and surrounding areas with glyphosate-isopropylamine herbicide. The effect of partial control was judged to be safe.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.375-380
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• 2006

In the survey from 1992 to 2000, twenty-eight parasitic diseases were observed in major apple producing areas in Korea. The predominant apple diseases were white rot(Botryosphaeria dothidea), Marssonina blotch(Marssonina mali), Valsa canker(Valsa ceratosperma), Alternaria leaf spot(Alternaria mali), and bitter rot(Collectotrichum gloeosporioides and C. acutatum). Apple scab that reappeared in 1990 after disappearance for 15 years was disappeared again since 1997. A viroid disease(caused by apple scar skin viroid) was newly found in this survey. The five diseases, fire blight(Erwinia amylovora), black rot(Botryosphaeria obtusa), scab(Cladosporium carpophilum), Monochaetia twig blight(Monochaetia sp.), and brown leaf spot(Hendersonia mali), which had once described in 1928 but no further reports on their occurrence, were not found in this survey. However, blossom blight(Monilinia mali), brown rot(Monilinia fructigena), and pink rot(Trichothecium roseum), which did not occur on apple after mid 1970s, were found in this survey.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.63-69
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• 2010

The effect of Acibenzolar-S-methyl (ASM) and Rahnella aquatilis Ra39 against apple fire blight disease caused by Erwinia amylovora were tested as a possible alternative to streptomycin. In vitro studies, no inhibition effect against the pathogen was found when ASM was tested. Under greenhouse conditions, application of R. aquatilis Ra39 with the highly susceptible M26 rootstock resulted in a marked disease suppression. Application of ASM and strain Ra39 caused a high decrease of the disease, 82% and 58% respectively; this was correlated with a reduction of the growth of the pathogen within host plants up to 64% and 49.5% respectively. Further studies in the field under artificial infection condition during full bloom revealed that application of ASM and R. aquatilis Ra39 with Gala variety resulted in a control effect up to 21 and 29% respectively. In physiological studies, enhanced activities of PR-proteins (chitinase and $\beta$-1, 3-glucanase) were detected, which are well known as biochemical markers for systemic acquired resistance. Application of ASM to apple shoots caused the highest chitinase activity followed by strain Ra39. The enzyme activity was increased after 2, 4 and 6 days from application. In addition, ASM-treatment caused the higher $\beta$-1, 3-glucanase activity than strain Ra39. Maximum enzyme activity was recorded after 6 days from application and then decreased after 8 and 10 days from application.

• Research in Plant Disease
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.176-182
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• 2010

Occurrence of plant diseases is dependent on various factors in the agricultural system. Due to recent extensive environmental climate changes, i.e. global warming, agricultural systems such as planting dates and cultivars are being affected. Gradual transition in disease occurrence and incidence in the agricultural fields can also be affected by direct and/or indirect environmental changes. In this study, we evaluated disease occurrence and incidence in soybean plants to investigate whether it could be related with cultivars, planting dates and geographical differences in Korea in 2008. Soybean cultivars including 'Taekwang', 'Pungsan', 'Cheongja 3', 'Saeol', and 'Dawon' were planted in four different dates, May 15, June 1, June 15, and June 30, in two locations, Suwon, and Naju. Soybean diseases such as wild fire and bacterial pustule were mainly found depending on cultivars, planting dates, and areas. Wild fire occurred severely on cv. 'Taekwang' while bacterial blight did on cv. 'Dawon' among tested cultivars. Disease developments of wild fire and bacterial blight generally decreased in delayed planting regardless of cultivars.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.77-82
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• 2001

Erwinia amylovora causes a devastating disease called fire blight in rosaceous trees and shrubs such as apple, pear, and raspberry. To successfully infect its hosts, the pathogen requires a set of clustered genes termed hrp. Studies on the hrp system of E. amylovora indicated that it consists of three functional classes of genes. Regulation genes including hrpS, hrpS, hrpXY, and hrpL produce proteins that control the expression of other genes in the cluster. Secretion genes, many of which named hrc, encode proteins that may form a transmembrane complex, which is devoted to type III protein secretion. Finally, several genes encode the proteins that are delivered by the protein secretion apparatus. They include harpins, DspE, and other potential effector proteins that may contribute to proliferation of E. amylovora inside the hosts. Harpins are glycine-rich heat-stable elicitors of the hypersensitive response, and induce systemic acquired resistance. The pathogenicity protein DseE is homologous and functionally similar to an avirulence protein of Pseudomonas syringae. The region encompassing the hrpldsp gene cluster of E. amylovora shows features characteristic of a genomic island : a cryptic recombinase/integrase gene and a tRNA gene are present at one end and genes corresponding to those of the Escherichia coli K-12 chromosome are found beyond the region. This island, designated the Hrp pathogenicity island, is more than 60 kilobases in size and carries as many as 60 genes.

• Research in Plant Disease
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.199-205
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• 2024

Erwinia amylovora, a causal pathogen of fire blight, has been continuously inducing damage to the apple and pear trees in South Korea since 2015. Farmers apply antibiotics during blooming season to prevent the fire blight. However, continuous use of antibiotics can induce the emergence of resistant bacteria, which consequently reduces control efficacy. In this study, we assessed the minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) of streptomycin, using a total of 361 E. amylovora isolates that were collected from the six provinces of South Korea from 2019 to 2023. As a result, the MIC of streptomycin ranged from 0.5 to 4 ㎍/ml and the strA-strB genes were not identified from the isolates. The MIC was higher in the isolates from Gyeonggi-do, Gangwondo, and Chungcheongbuk-do compared to those from other three provinces. These results may bring broad attention to the use of streptomycin and aid in developing a management protocol for the occurrence of fire blight in South Korea.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural and Forest Meteorology
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.208-217
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• 2023

Accurate estimation of dormancy breaking and first bloom dates is crucial for effective fire blight control by disease model such as Maryblyt in apple orchards. The duration from dormancy breaking to first bloom in apple trees was influenced by daily minimum temperatures during the dormant period. The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between minimum temperatures during this period and the time taken for flowering to commence. Webcam data from eight apple orchards, equipped by the National Institute of Horticultural and Herbal Science, were observed from 2019 to 2023 to determine the dates of starting bloom (B1). Additionally, the dormancy breaking dates for these eight sites were estimated using an apple chill day model, with a value of -100.5 DD, based on collected weather data. Two regressions were performed to analyze the relationships: the first regression between the number of days under 0℃ (X₁) and the time from calculated dormancy breaking to observed first bloom (Y), resulting in Y = 0.87 × X₁ + 40.76 with R² = 0.84. The second regression examined the starting date of breaking dormancy (X₂) and the duration from dormancy breaking to observed first bloom (Y), resulting in Y = -1.07 × X₂ + 143.62 with R² = 0.92. These findings suggest that apple anti-chill days are significantly affected by minimum temperatures during the period from dormancy breaking to flowering, indicating their importance in fire blight control measures.