Abstract

Pistachio crops have a great economic potential, as their global production has increased dramatically over the past few decades. Therefore, it is important to maintain the healthy phytosanitary status of pistachio crops. In a Chilean pistachio orchard, a dieback of the trees was observed, with blighting of twigs and severe necrosis in the trunk and twigs. Bacterial isolation, pathogenicity tests and molecular characterization were conducted to determine the causal agent of the observed disease. The bacterial isolation and analysis of 16S rRNA gene led to the identification of Pantoea genus bacteria. Pathogenicity tests carried out on fruits inoculated with Pantoea isolates induced large necrosis seven days post-inoculation. Further inoculations were carried out on pruning cuttings and on the trunk of 18-month-old pistachio plants. Thirty-one weeks after inoculation, necrotic lesions were observed in the wood of pistachio plants. Sequence analysis of housekeeping genes enabled the isolated bacterium to be identified as Pantoa agglomerans, and to verify its role as the causal agent of the pistachio dieback with necrotic lesions. This is the first report of an occurrence of P. agglomerans inducing dieback in pistachio.