Frontiers in the control of pathogenic fungi associated with the Esca disease complex

Abstract

The ‘esca disease complex’ is a term used to identify several syndromes associated with a fungal infection of the wood of Vitis vinifera L. or other Vitis species. The pathogenic agents induce the appearance of internal symptoms in the perennial organs, such as brown wood streaking, wood necrosis and wood decay; and they are believed to be indirectly involved in the manifestation of external symptoms in annual organs as well. Overall, an esca infection induces lower vigor, productivity, quality of the yield and sorter life span of affected plants. Despite several points regarding the etiology and epidemiology of this disease complex remain controversial, due to the recent increase in the disease’s reports and worldwide incidence, there is an urgent need to find effective control strategies both to prevent the spread of esca-associated pathogens and to treat infected vines. To tackle this issue, three strategies were investigated upon: biological control, endotherapy and foliar spray with selected fungicides