Almond witches’ broom phytoplasma: situation in Lebanon Jawdah Yusuf Abou1*, Faculty, Choueiri Elia2, Bianco Piero Attilio3, Molino-Lova Marina3, Hajj-Hassan Salah4, Achi Rola Al4 1Agricultural and Food Sciences (FAFS), American University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon 2Lebanese Agricultural Research Institute, Tal Amara, Rayak, Zahlé, Lebanon 3Di.Pro.Ve.-sezione Patologia Vegetale, Università degli Studi di Milano, Milan, Italy 4Ministry of Agriculture, Beirut, Lebanon *Corresponding author e-mail: abujawyf@aub.edu.lb
Online published on 21 February, 2012. Abstract Almond witches’ broom phytoplasma (AlmWB) associated disease was localized mainly in North Lebanon where it became epidemic, and in two other villages one in the South and one in the Bekaa region. Then it spread to the other districts. The recent survey showed that AlmWB caused epidemics on almond, peach and nectarine and became more widespread: it was detected in 16 districts out of a total of 26, extending from extreme North to extreme South. Promising preliminary results on eradication were already obtained in Sarada plain, South Lebanon, where the farmers responded rapidly and the disease was apparently eradicated from that region within three years. In the North, AlmWB eradication will start from the periphery of infested areas towards the inside, the reason is to prevent further spread into new areas. Since the North of Lebanon was considered the epidemic centers of AlmWB in Lebanon, studies may be conducted on alternate hosts, on identification of the disease vector(s) using molecular tools and bioassays, and on evaluation of possible sources of resistance. Top Keywords AlmWB, phytoplasma, Lebanon. Top |