Olives from Salento Lecce have leprosy!

Olives from Salento Lecce have leprosy!


Antonio Bruno *

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The latest olive campaigns were characterized by the spread of leprosy olive increasingly serious. The incidence of plant diseases that helped to further undermine a sector, such as olive oil, already badly hit by a severe market crisis. In this November 2010, the disease situation has worsened and virulence observed is exceptional. In this paper the information to a field that has too often suffered from the lack of effective communication in so far as its operators.

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E 'desperate my friend Perito Agrario Rino Scardino, tells me that this year the olives of Salento Lecce give a low yield of oil and that it has a high acidity. For the acidity you get up to 10 degrees which means the content of 10% oleic acid. Tells me that he personally witnessed the analysis is that in Melendugno Squinzano del Salento Lecce and before his eyes he arrived at 7 to 8 degrees, it is practically useless as food for lamp oil.

I receive confirmation from Agronomist Giancarlo Biasco that tells me about a broadcast major and Prof. Vincent Mello tells me that the disease that causes this high degree of acidity and a very low yield and leprosy adds that it is caused by the fungus Gloeosporium Olivarum Alm. The fungus has always been there in Salento Lecce but this year presents a tremendous virulence. Prof. Mello talking Francesco Arditi, a major producer of olives del Salento Lecce, raised his complaints to the minimum yield of oil to seven degrees of acidity.

The "Leprosy, a disease known since the end of the last century, is present in many countries and the olive sector in Italy was reported in 1950 by Antonio Ciccarone professor of the Faculty of Agriculture, University of Bari

Laconic bulletin announcing the 60 thousand plant growers of the 100 municipalities in the Salento Lecce that since it was detected the presence of the fungal disease known as leprosy, it is recommended that treatment with products based on copper and sulfur occur on days when weather conditions that is stable with no wind and clear sky.

By the fungus Gloeosporium Olivarum phytotoxic substance was isolated and then it was obtained in a pure form: a white powder.

The purified toxin and placed on cuttings of tomato, has symptoms indistinguishable from those caused by the cultivation of the fungus.

But we are not the only ones to have these problems because in recent years, the olive trees along the Montenegrin coast have suffered serious rot of olive drupes by the fungus Gloeosporium Olivarum Alm has been consistently isolated.

In Montenegro, made investigations on the morphology and biology of the fungus. Further studies were carried out by observing the characteristics of the fungus, the effect of different culture media, the effect of pH (a measure of whether a substance is acidic or alkaline) on the growth of colonies and sporulation, pathogenicity of isolates from diseased fruits, and the host range of the pathogen, obtained by inoculating various plant species in laboratory conditions.

In Montenegro they do in the lab but if you happen to be observed around the ripe olives, look at the alteration, the spots more or less extensive brown-black, rot you can see it on all the oil! The olives and you have not seen? Surely you have observed the first symptoms, those damned spots roundish, of different sizes, depressed, affecting a portion of drupa. The olives shrivel and mummification, although it remains attached to the twig.

During this period, with all the rain that has flooded the Salento Lecce you can see on the surface of the olive, a waxy coating or bloom, pink-brown! How is it? It 's the fungus that reproduces!

A film on the oil with the fruits of the fungus then be shed. And here is through the dissemination of conidia. How do you say? You do not know what the conidia? And mo 'you write it: the conidia is a typical asexual spore is a reproductive cell that can develop without fertilization by mitosis produced by fungi which means that a mother cell generates two daughter cells (mitospora).

These conidia, which right now do you understand what they are, are removed from the sick and brought heavy rain on the oil from splashing sound of rain on the olives! In short, this rain of recent days it is a combination of cooked and believe!

Leprosy infections can be spread even through the vegetative mycelium. Okay, I understand, the vegetative mycelium is another word completely incomprehensible! Let me tell you what it is! The mycelium consists of hyphae, which are the primary element that is both the mycelium, both carpophore that would be what we see and that improperly call fungus.

The hyphae are cylindrical, hollow inside, and are related to other hyphae through joints called "cults" they penetrate the soil to absorb nutrients together constitute the vegetative mycelium can infect different parts of the plant. Got it now? All all it's easy right? You must know that once it was clear that less and more than one said he had spoken was considered a PROFESSORONE! What? Even now it? Really? No, Do not tell me: Do not believe it, really still tell these "urban legends"?

Here they are the Hobby Farmers (farmers for pleasure), asking me what to do. Aspe, I say to you that you do for fun, you do not care what it costs to care for your olive tree. A little piece of yourself in love with the countryside of Salento, Lecce, I'll tell you what you should have already done before you experience leprosy. Yes! You should have done a good accommodation Hydralisk-agricultural land, you should make a proper pruning, and all these things that I've written that you should have done, and if you have leprosy over your olives, you did, would serve to avoid ponding of moisture, which could limit the severity of attacks is decreasing your olives in a product that will only lamp oil for your evenings without electric lights!

For 11 thousand professional farmers not to punish him because I feel there is a circumstance of no small account, the price of oil that does not pay the cost that would have these actions, then you professional farmers owners of olive groves, or you that are little more than a sixth of the 60 thousand owners of groves of Salento Lecce I would not tell you anything!

Now we're to the point that the fungus is already present in the olive grove with the aggravating circumstance of a wet weather pattern for the frequent rains.

What to do?

The laconic Phytosanitary Press says that actions are needed chemical products based on copper. But I like bringing a conclusion written by prof. Antonio Ciccarone he did during the lesson that I took of Plant Pathology at the Faculty of Agriculture, University of Bari "In the open field, leprosy, with G. Olivarum, while producing severe damage, however, is limited to small surface areas now total distribution area of the crop, and even in these areas, there seems to be concern in recent years, perhaps because of improved means of fly control . Over the years, and in places where leprosy is economically important, three treatments autumn of cupric seem prepared, as mentioned above, are needed. "

So are you ready? Go! Three times, three times, copper green olives ... to heal the leprosy!



* Agronomist



Bibliography



Ciccarone, A., 1950. Biological and systematic considerations on 'agent' leprosy 'olives, recently observed in Lecce. Bull Staz. Patola. veg. Roma, Ser 3, 5 (1947): 143-165.

Martelli, G. P., 1960. First contribution to the knowledge of the biology of Gloeosporium Olivarum Alm. Phytopath. Medit. 1: 31-43.

A. Ball 1, A. 2 Carilli, V. 2 and Victor A. Granite Purification of a toxin from culture filtrates of Gloeosporium Olivarum Alm.

N. Loprienoe, I. Tenerina: Investigations on Gloeosporium Olivarum Alm., The agent "leprosy" of the olives

J. Latinovic, Z. Vucinic: CULTURAL CHARACTERISTICS, PATHOGENICITY, AND HOST RANGE OF ISOLATED FROM OLIVE PLANTS Colletotrichum GLOEOSPORIOIDES IN MONTENEGRO

Ivan Imbriani Oil & Oil The healing properties of a plant millennial

Antonio Ciccarone: A look at dell'0livo disease in Mediterranean countries

CONSORTIUM OF DEFENCE PRODUCTION AND USE OF INTENSIVE ENVIRONMENT AND RURAL AREA OF THE PROVINCE OF LECCE Press Phytosanitary CONTROL PROGRAM AND INTEGRATED GUIDED Valid 16 to 22 November 2010