Sweet basil (Ocimum basilicum) is an economically important herb in several Mediterranean countries. Approximately 80 ha are grown annually in Italy for fresh and processed consumption. In 2003, a damaging foliar disease was observed in several greenhouses located in the Liguria Region of northern Italy. More that 50% of the plants were affected. Leaves of infected plants were initially slightly chlorotic, especially near the central vein. Within 2 to 3 days, a characteristic gray, furry growth was evident on the lower surface of infected leaves. These symptoms sometimes occurred on the top sides of leaves. Although the distribution of the disease was generally uniform, symptoms appeared first in a patchy pattern in the central part of the greenhouses where air temperature and relative humidity were highest. Where air circulation was apparently poor, bottom leaves were severely affected by the disease. Microscopic observations revealed conidiophores branching two to seven times. Conidiophores with a length of 250 to 500 μm (average 350 μm) ended with sterigmata bearing single conidia. Conidia measured 15 to 25 × 20 to 35 μm (average 22 × 28 μm) and were elliptical and grayish in mass. The pathogen was identified as a Peronospora sp. based on its morphological characteristics (3). Pathogenicity was confirmed by inoculating leaves of 40-day-old healthy plants with a conidial suspension (1 × 105 conidia per ml). Three containers containing 150 plants each of O. basilicum cv. Genovese gigante were used as replicates. Noninoculated plants served as controls. Inoculated and noninoculated plants were maintained in a growth chamber at 20°C (12 h of light per day) and 90 to 95% relative humidity. The pathogenicity test was carried out twice. After 6 days, typical symptoms of downy mildew developed on the inoculated plants and a Peronospora sp. was observed on the leaves. Noninoculated plants did not show symptoms. To our knowledge, this is the first report of a Peronospora sp. on basil in Italy. Peronospora sp. and P. lamii were previously reported on sweet basil in Uganda (1,2). References: (1) C. G. Hansford. Rev. Appl. Mycol. 12:421, 1933. (2) C. G. Hansford. Rev. Appl. Mycol. 17:345, 1938. (3) D. M. Spencer. The Downy Mildews. Academic Press, N.Y., 1978.
Recent legislation in the European Union requires regulators of member states to carry out risk assessments using data for actual or potential operator exposure, or estimates of exposure from models. However, the existing models have few datasets from studies carried out on greenhouse or indoor crops, particularly in southern Europe. In this study potential dermal and inhalatory exposures were measured in two trials in Italian greenhouses. The total potential dermal operator exposure of the applicator, measured with a whole-body passive dosimetry method, was 15.4 and 37.1 mL/h of the diluted pesticide mixture. The majority of the contamination was on the hands and on the lower part of the coverall. Approximately 0. 003% of the active ingredient (ai) applied to the crop area contaminated the coverall worn by the operator. The potential dermal exposure during the mixing and loading phase accounted for 6-8% of the total potential dermal exposure during the whole process. Inhalation exposure accounted for only 0.05-0.07% of the total potential operator exposure. Model predictions of the potential operator exposure using a modified version of the German model overestimate the mixing-loading exposure while underestimating the application exposure. These data are evidence that the estimation coefficient set for hand-held application to ornamental and horticultural crops may be inadequate for the agronomic conditions of southern Europe.
with distilled water. The plants were kept in a humid plastic chamber at 20 to 26°C. All examined isolates were pathogenic to bitter coconut, causing symptoms identical to those described above 12 days after inoculation. All inoculated tissues were plated onto PDA to confirm the presence of the pathogen. Live cultures are being maintained at the Micoteca/URM/UFPE (www.ufpe.br/micoteca), Brazil. To our knowledge, this is the first report of a disease caused by C. perangustum on 5. olerácea worldwide, and the study provides valuable plant disease diagnostic information for the palm hearth industry in Latin America.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.