Susceptibility of grapevine cultivars to Eutypa lata in Serbia

The species Eutypa lata is one of the most critical phytopathogenic fungi that presents a threat to vineyards by causing significant economic damage. This grapevine disease is hazardous because there is no adequate chemical protection, so after its progression, there is a decrease in yield and dieback of parts or whole infected shoots. There are also no grapevine cultivars resistant to this disease. For these reasons, in this paper, testing of the susceptibility of a pair of grapevine cultivars to this disease was carried out. The testing was performed under semicontrolled conditions and included six of the most economically essential grapevine cultivars in Serbia (Riesling italico, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cardinal, Rkaziteli, Pinot noir, and Prokupac). Testing was performed using 14 isolates of E. lata isolated in Serbia and two control isolates obtained from the INRA. For specific detection of isolates of Eutypa spp. included in the experiment, a specific pair of primers, Lata 1/Lata 2.2, was applied, and an amplicon of the expected size of approximately 385 bp was established in all isolates. In the conditions of the set experiment, of all of the domestic and foreign-tested grapevine cultivars, the local cultivar Prokupac showed greater resistance to the isolates. In contrast, the cultivars Riesling italico, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cardinal, Pinot noir showed sensitivity to the isolates of E. lata, but not to the same extent as the cultivar Rkaziteli, which proved to be susceptible.