Effect of Temperature on the Development of Fruiting Bodies of and on Grapevine Cuttings In Vitro and Survival of Both Pathogens in Vineyards.

In this study, isolates of and , fungal pathogens associated with Petri and esca diseases of grapevine, were used to determine the effect of temperature on the development of their fruiting bodies in vitro. Perithecia of and pycnidia of were induced at 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, and 30°C on pieces of 1-year-old grapevine cuttings of 110 Richter rootstock, which were incubated for 45 days under continuous white light. Both species were able to produce abundant fruiting bodies at temperatures ranging from 15 to 25°C, but produced more perithecia at 25°C and produced more pycnidia at 20°C. At 30°C, only very few reproductive structures were observed. Calculated optimal temperatures ranged from 23.3 to 25.6°C, and equations providing a proper description of temperature effect on and fruiting body development were obtained. Moreover, the development of fruiting bodies and the survival of both pathogens on artificially inoculated grapevine cuttings were investigated in two vineyards. No fruiting bodies were observed during the vineyard experiments, but both fungal species were systematically recovered by fungal isolation from the cuttings. Differences in pathogen survival based on incidence data were observed relative to the species, location, and time of exposure, and generalized linear mixed-models analysis showed a progressive reduction of inoculum viability with time. The present research increases our knowledge about the biology and epidemiology of and , being particularly useful to improve epidemiological models that could be developed for the prediction of Petri and esca diseases.