ISHS Acta Horticulturae 704: X International Workshop on Fireblight
PRESENT WORLDWIDE DISTRIBUTION OF FIRE BLIGHT AND CLOSELY RELATED DISEASES |
| Author: | T. van der Zwet |
| Abstract:
At the time of the first workshop in The Netherlands (November 1977), there were 15 countries known with fire blight worldwide. This total increased to 22 countries in 1986, 31 in 1993, 40 in 1999, 43 in 2002, and 46 to date (Table 1). Following the long time presence of fire blight in the “original seven” countries in North America and the western Pacific rim prior to WWII, the disease spread on plant material sometime during the late 1950s from North America to western Europe (Great Britain) and to north Africa (Egypt). From these two new foci, fire blight spread to the remaining 39 countries, a near seven fold increase in less than 50 years. In some of the cooler climates of northern Europe, fire blight is seldom severe and usually not of economic importance, whereas in the warmer, more humid climates of southern Europe and the eastern Mediterranean the disease has occurred quite severe from time to time. The possible presence of fire blight in several countries located in close proximity to those known with the disease, is highly probable. During the past 15 years, fire blight has been extremely severe in America on apples in southern Michigan and on pears in Washington State. | |
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