BackgroundDalmatia is an interesting place to study the use of wild greens as it lies at the intersection of influence of Slavs, who do not usually use many species of wild greens, and Mediterranean culinary culture, where the use of multiple wild greens is common. The aim of the study was to document the mixtures of wild green vegetables which are sold in all the vegetable markets of Dalmatia.MethodsAll vendors (68) in all 11 major markets of the Dalmatian coast were interviewed. The piles of wild vegetables they sold were searched and herbarium specimens taken from them.ResultsThe mean number of species in the mix was 5.7. The most commonly sold wild plants are: Sonchus oleraceus L., Allium ampeloprasum L., Foeniculum vulgare Mill., Urospermum picroides F.W.Schmidt, Papaver rhoeas L., Daucus carota L., Taraxacum sp., Picris echioides L., Silene latifolia Poir. and Crepis spp. Also the cultivated beet (Beta vulgaris L.) and a few cultivated Brassicaceae varieties are frequent components. Wild vegetables from the mix are usually boiled for 20–30 minutes and dressed with olive oil and salt. Altogether at least 37 wild taxa and 13 cultivated taxa were recorded.Apart from the mixes, Asparagus acutifolius L. and Tamus communis L. shoots are sold in separate bunches (they are usually eaten with eggs), as well as some Asteraceae species, the latter are eaten raw or briefly boiled.ConclusionsThe rich tradition of eating many wild greens may result both from strong Venetian and Greek influences and the necessity of using all food resources available in the barren, infertile land in the past. Although the number of wild-collected green vegetables is impressive we hypothesize that it may have decreased over the years, and that further in-depth local ethnobotanical studies are needed in Dalmatia to record the disappearing knowledge of edible plants.

samples of wheat, maize, soybean, and pea were analysed for the presence of Fusarium species. Contamination with Fusarium spp., expressed as the percentage of seeds with Fusarium colonies, ranged from 5 % to 69 % for wheat, from 25 % to 100 % for maize, from 4 % to 17 % for soybean, and from 3 % to 17 % for pea. 187 isolates were collected and the following 19 species determined:

In August 2010, a dieback of young olive (Olea europea L.) trees (cvs. Pendolino and Leccino) occurred in two orchards in Istria, Croatia. According to the producers, low temperatures during the winter severely damaged the plants and led to their decline. Distinctive symptoms, assumed fungal infection, were observed in internal tissue of stems and branches. Elongated brown necrosis, sometimes with black streaks, was visible under the bark, therefore Verticillium wilt was suspected. Of 1,086 trees in two orchards (4 ha), 165 (15%) showed symptoms. To isolate the causal agent, surface-sterilized wood chips of symptomatic tissue were placed on potato dextrose agar (PDA). Fungal colonies resembling Botryosphaeriaceae spp. grew from all wood fragments placed on PDA, and from these colonies, monohyphal isolates were obtained. For morphological identification, pycnidial formation was stimulated by growing the isolates on 2% water agar that included stems of plant species Foeniculum vulgare Mill. at room temperature under diffuse light. Pycnidia contained conidia that initially showed as hyaline, becoming light to dark brown as they matured, ovoid with truncated or rounded base and obtuse apex, aseptate, with wall moderately thick, externally smooth, roughened on the inner surface, and 22.8 to 23.5 × 9.6 to 10.5 μm. On the basis of these morphological characters, fungal species Diplodia seriata (teleomorph “Botryosphaeria” obtusa) was suspected (3). For molecular identification, four isolates (MN3, MN4, MN5, and MN6) were used for PCR to amplify the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region and partial translation elongation factor 1-alpha (EF1-α) gene, using primers ITS4/ITS5 and EF1-728F/EF1-986R, respectively. Sequencing was performed with those amplified genes, then sequences were deposited in GenBank. Comparison of these sequences with GenBank sequences for referent D. seriata isolate CBS 112555 (AY259094 and AY573220) (3) showed 100% homology. On the basis of molecular data, the isolates were confirmed to be species D. seriata De Not. Pathogenicity tests were performed by inoculation of 2-year-old olive plants, six plants per tested cultivar (Pendolino and Leccino). For every cultivar, four plants were wounded and mycelium plugs from D. seriata cultures on PDA were placed on the wounds and sealed with Parafilm. Two control plants per tested cultivar were inoculated with sterile PDA plugs. After 2 months, six of eight inoculated plants wilted completely, and under the bark, brown necrosis was observed. D. seriata was constantly reisolated from the inoculated plants and fulfilled Koch's postulates and confirmed pathogenicity of D. seriata on olive as causal agent of olive dieback. Control plants showed no symptoms of the disease. This fungus has been recognized as the cause of fruit rot of olive (1) and branch canker or dieback in Spain (2). To our knowledge, this is the first report of D. seriata as a pathogen of olive in Croatia. Also, this is one of the first reports of D. seriata as the cause of olive dieback in the world, while Moral et al. (1,2) mostly reported it as the cause of olive fruit rot. Since the same symptoms of olive dieback were observed at other localities in Croatia, the disease could represent a serious threat, particularly for young olive orchards. References: (1) J. Moral et al. Plant Dis. 92:311, 2008. (2) J. Moral et al. Phytopathology 100:1340, 2010. (3) A. J. L. Phillips et al. Fungal Divers. 25:141, 2007.

Grapevine trunk diseases (GTD) have a variety of symptoms and causes. The latter include fungal species from the family Diaporthaceae. The aim of our study was to determine Diaporthaceae species present in the woody parts of grapevines sampled from 12 vine-growing coastal and continental areas of Croatia. The fungi were isolated from diseased wood, and cultures analysed for phenotype (morphology and pathogenicity) and DNA sequence (ITS1, 5.8S, ITS2). Most isolates were identifi ed as Phomopsis viticola, followed by Diaporthe neotheicola and Diaporthe eres. This is the fi rst report of Diaporthe eres as a pathogen on grapevine in the world, while for Diaporthe neotheicola this is the fi rst report in Croatia. Pathogenicity trials confi rmed Phomopsis viticola as a strong and Diaporthe neotheicola as a weak pathogen. Diaporthe eres turned out to be a moderate pathogen, which implies that the species could have a more important role in the aetiology of GTD.

No abstract