Incidence and Severity of Crown and Root Rots on Four Apple Rootstocks Following Exposure to Phytophthora Species and Waterlogging

Abstract

Plants of four apple (Malus × domestica Borkh.) rootstock clones, M.7, M.26, MM.111, and Ottawa (O.) 3, were grown in unamended potting medium or in the same medium infested with Phytophthora cactorum (Leb. & Cohn) Schroet., P. cambivora (Petri) Buisman, P. cryptogea Pethyb. & Laff., or P. megasperma Drechsler, causal agents of crown and root rots. Plants were flooded for either 0, 24, 48, or 72 h every 7 days for 4 months, then assessed for disease incidence and severity. Averaged across all pathogens and rootstocks, mean crown rot incidences were 2.5%, 6.3%, 19%, and 50% following weekly flooding periods of 0, 24, 48, and 72 h, respectively; when averaged across all rootstocks and flooding treatments, mean incidences of crown rot caused by P. cryptogea, P. cactorum, P. cambivora, and P. megasperma were 36%, 26%, 15%, and 8.8%, respectively; when averaged across all four pathogens, mean crown rot incidences after 72 h of flooding were 40%, 45%, 50%, and 75% for M.26, 0.3, M.7, and MM.111, respectively. In contrast, 72-h flooding periods in the absence of a pathogen were least detrimental to growth of MM.111 clones and most detrimental to shoot growth of M-26. Exceptions to general trends were reflected by statistical interactions among pathogens, rootstocks, and flooding durations, e.g., after 72-h floodings, 0.3 was the rootstock with the greatest amount of root rot caused by P. cryptogea but the least amount caused by P. megasperma. Differential disease susceptibility among rootstocks appeared greatest with respect to P. cactorum and least with respect to P. cryptogea.