Researchers Identify PSA Mechanism in Kiwifruit

A research project, funded by the Italian Ministry for Agriculture and Forestry (MIPAAF) and conducted by scientists from the University of Tuscia in Italy and the University of Wageningen, Netherlands, was able to clarify the important biological processes of the plant pathogen Pseudomonas syringae pv. actinidiae (PSA). PSA is particularly notorious to kiwifruit, one of Italy's economically important crops.

The research specifically studied the infection processes and spread of PSA in the xylem and phloem of kiwifruit plants by doing experiments both with forcely induced pathogens in the plant and those which were naturally affected by the bacterial canker. The study reveals that the bacterium can infect kiwifruit plants through natural openings and lesions.

Once inside the host, PSA can fastly reach the other parts of the plant and can survive even at the level of the roots, thus application of grafting method or any cut at soil level to those plants afflicted are no longer useful. These can even bring harm because they lead to further spreading of the pathogen.

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