Insight into epidemiological importance of phytoplasma vectors in vineyards in South Moravia, Czech Republic

Abstract

Bois noir (BN), caused by 'Candidatus Phytoplasma solani', is a serious disease of grapevines in Europe. During the 2010-2012 survey in PernĂĄ vineyard (South Moravia, Czech Republic) a total of 4854 insect individuals were collected and among these, 95 insect species belonging to Auchenorrhyncha (77 species), Heteroptera (12), and Psylloidea (62) were indentified. The nested polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism analyses confirmed Hyalesthes obsoletus as the main BN vector with 43.8% of phytoplasma positive individuals on average. A significant role of Anaceratagallia ribauti (22.6% of phytoplasma positive specimens) should be taken into account based on its occurrence and incidence of infected individuals. Eleven insect species were identified as new carriers of 'Ca. P. solani' or suggested as potential BN vectors in this work.