The research of traditional rural architecture in developing regions is important to both the preservation of cultural heritage and the mitigation of the trends and consequences of unsustainable rural shifts. In the Western Balkans, for example, negative transformation of the rural environment happens more rapidly than the recording of its traditional built assets. For that reason, the objectives of the present research were to explore general and specific (sustainability-related) characteristics of traditional rural houses in the so far insufficiently studied microregion of the Western Balkans of Sirinićka Župa (Sirinić), to reveal their values and to initiate discussion of the role of heritage regeneration in sustainable rural development. Study has shown that the most significant values of Sirinić houses include opulent spatial-functional typology, distinct architectural expression, and sustainability-related quality in terms of applied materials, structural systems, and multipurpose techniques and elements, as well as a high level of spatial comfort. A necessary regeneration of the traditional houses of Sirinićka Župa must be formulated in a way that enables preservation of recognized general values and further improvement of environmental quality and climate resilience. Simultaneously, functional reactivation of traditional houses should be understood as a contribution to the sustainable development of Sirinićka Župa.Sustainability 2019, 11, 4711 2 of 16 either the abovementioned rural decline, despite their natural potential, or the development process that changes attitudes towards cultural traditions, especially in terms of residential architecture.Generally, traditional rural houses illustrate a diversity of living cultures and practices, building methods, and architectural styles, but, in the Western Balkans, they are insufficiently explored and mainly unprotected structures that await evaluation, recognition and treatment as heritage. Therefore, recording and research of traditional rural houses represent an important need of this region. Additionally, adoption and efficient implementation of heritage strategies could be relevant for landscape protection and conservation [8], as well as overall rural development. Based on presented facts, this research attempts in the first instance to expand understanding of material heritage in the rural Western Balkans by revealing values of the less-known traditional houses. A narrow rural territory of the south part of the Western Balkans, characterized by exceptional natural values and a remarkable collection of traditional houses, namely, the area of Sirinićka Župa in the Šar Mountains (Sirinić in commonly used abbreviated form), has been selected as the case area.The concept of sustainability encompasses different spatial levels and domains of human activity. In the architectural sphere, the notion of sustainability mainly refers to the environmental quality of buildings [9]. Studies of traditional architecture at regional and local levels generate knowledge [1...
Blackberries (Rubus L. subgenus Rubus Watson) are popular, wild fruits with high content of antioxidants and thus with beneficial effect on the human health (Reyes-Carmona et al. 2005). In July 2019 and May 2020, plants with typical powdery mildew symptoms were collected in the blackberry cv. ‘Triple crown‘ orchard (of 2 ha in size) in the vicinity of Pakovraće (Moravica District, Serbia). The symptoms observed in 2019 included mild chlorotic spots on both old and young leaves accompanied by the white powdery mildew colonies on the surface of the leaves, visible on both primorcanes and floricanes. In 2020, even more intensive symptoms occurred on fruit bearing shoots which were covered with dense white fungal growth. Heavily infected leaves turned necrotic along the edges, followed by defoliation. Disease incidence was calculated by randomly counting and rating 100 plants in four replications and estimated to be over 90% while disease severity was estimated to be over 40%. Morphological characteristics were assessed using bright-field and phase-contrast microscopy (Jankovics et al. 2011) and revealed the presence of unbranched, erect conidiophores (N=50, 75 to 200 μm) with cylindrical foot-cell and up to five short cells. Conidia were unicellular, hyaline and ellipsoid-barrel-shaped (N=50, 22.5 to 35.5 × 12.5 to 15 μm) containing fibrosin bodies (in 3% KOH). All observed characteristics resembled to Podosphaera spp. (Braun and Takamatsu 2000). The presence of chasmothecia was not recorded. Further molecular identification was conducted using internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequence analysis of two isolates, 420G-19 and 30G-20, sampled in 2019 and 2020, respectively. Total DNA was extracted directly from epiphytic mycelium on the leaves using DNeasy Plant Mini Kit (Qiagen, Hilden, Germany) following the manufacturer's instructions. PCR amplification and sequencing were performed with primers ITS1F and ITS4 (Takamatsu et al. 2010). The nucleotide sequence of the representative isolates 420G-19 (530 bp) and 30G-20 (530 bp) (Accession No. MN914995 and MT514661) shared 100% identity, while both shared 99.49 to 99.81% nt identity with 32 Podosphaera aphanis strawberry and raspberry isolates in the GenBank (the highest 99.81% with GU942455, Harvey and Xu 2010), confirming that powdery mildew of blackberry in Serbia is caused by P. aphanis. In order to fulfill Koch’s postulates, 10 rooted, healthy blackberry plants cv. ‘Triple crown’ were dusted with conidia of isolate 30G-20 and incubated at 23°C under the high relative humidity in the glasshouse. Healthy blackberry plants incubated in the same conditions, served as negative control. The minute white fungal colonies sharing the same microscopic features with the original isolate were visible 7-8 days post inoculation on all inoculated plants. No fungal growth was observed in the negative control. Serbia is the fourth largest blackberry producer in the world (Strik et al. 2007) and the occurrence of P. aphanis causing powdery mildew as a new pathogen is of utmost importance. P. aphanis is described as strawberry and raspberry powdery mildew pathogen with a population expressing substantial genetic diversity (Harvey and Xu 2010). The molecular data on blackberry originating isolates of P. aphanis are missing. Our study showed that P. aphanis could be destructive for blackberry in Serbia, thus representing a threat for the production of this valuable crop.
European pear (Pyrus communis L.) is one of the most important fruits in Serbia, with a total production of 55,938 tonnes in 2021 (Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia). In November 2021, pear fruits (cv. Santa Maria) with typical anthracnose symptoms were collected in one storage facility in the area of Smederevo, Serbia. The disease incidence was about 2%. A total of nine infected fruits had dark, circular, sunken necrotic lesions with concentric rings of orange conidial masses produced in black acervuli. The tissue pieces from the edges of lesions (3 to 5 mm2) were surface-sterilized in 1% sodium hypochlorite for 1 min, rinsed twice in sterilized distilled water, air-dried, and incubated on potato dextrose agar (PDA) at 25°C. One isolate/diseased fruit was obtained (nine in total). Colony morphology of all isolates on PDA was light gray to pinkish on the upper side, and pink to vinaceous on reverse after 7 days of incubation at 25°C in the dark. Average growth rate was 64 ± 2 mm. The conidia were hyaline, fusiform, aseptate, smooth-walled, with both ends acute, and measured 12.8 to 16.6 µm × 3.5 to 4.5 µm (n =100). Appressoria were single, smooth-walled, dark brown, clavate to irregular outline, 5.5 to 9.6 × 4.8 to 7.2 μm (n =20). These morphological characterstics are consistent with the description of Damm et al. (2012) for Colletotrichum fioriniae. To confirm this identification, genomic DNA of representative isolate SZ-21-36 was extracted and the ITS region of the rDNA, partial beta-tubulin gene (BenA), glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH), and partial actin gene (ACT) were amplified using the primers ITS1/ITS4, Bt2a/Bt2b, GDF1/GDR1, and ACT512F/ACT783R, respectively (Hassan et al. 2019). The nucleotide sequence of each locus has been deposited in GenBank under Accession Nos. ON171625 (ITS), ON186696 (BenA), ON186697 (GAPDH), and ON186698 (ACT). Multilocus phylogenetic analysis based on the above mentioned molecular markers placed Serbian isolate of C. fioriniae with other isolates of this species deposited in GenBank (bootstrap support of 100%). Pathogenicity test was conducted on symptomless, detached pear fruits (cv. Santa Maria). Five surface-sterilized fruits were wound-inoculated with 50 μl of a conidial suspension (1 × 106 conidia/ml). After 10 days of incubation in a plastic chamber (25°C, 90% relative humidity, and 12-h photoperiod), typical anthracnose lesions developed on inoculated fruits. Five control fruits inoculated with sterile distilled water remained asymptomatic. The experiment was repeated once. Fungal colonies reisolated from the lesions showed the same morphological features as the original isolate. Pathogen was not reisolated from the control fruits. C. fioriniae was previously reported on European pear fruits in Croatia (Ivić et al. 2013), France (Da Lio et al. 2017), China (Fu et el. 2019), and in the USA (Pavlović et al. 2019). To our knowledge, this is the first report of anthracnose of pear fruit caused by C. fioriniae in Serbia. Currently, the economic impact of anthracnose caused by this pathogen is minimal, but its presence decreases commercial value and quality of pear fruits, and can be a risk to the further spread of C. fioriniae to other plant species.
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