Soil temperature determines the reaction of olive cultivars to Verticillium dahliae pathotypes

Development of Verticillium wilt in olive, caused by the soil-borne fungus Verticillium dahliae, can be influenced by biotic and environmental factors. In this study we modeled i) the combined effects of biotic factors (i.e., pathotype virulence and cultivar susceptibility) and abiotic factors (i.e., soil temperature) on disease development and ii) the relationship between disease severity and several remote sensing parameters and plant stress indicators.

Plants of Arbequina and Picual olive cultivars inoculated with isolates of defoliating and non-defoliating V. dahliae pathotypes were grown in soil tanks with a range of soil temperatures from 16 to 32°C. Disease progression was correlated with plant stress parameters (i.e., leaf temperature, steady-state chlorophyll fluorescence, photochemical reflectance index, chlorophyll content, and ethylene production) and plant growth-related parameters (i.e., canopy length and dry weight).

Disease development in plants infected with the defoliating pathotype was faster and more severe in Picual. Models estimated that infection with the defoliating pathotype was promoted by soil temperatures in a range of 16 to 24°C in cv. Picual and of 20 to 24°C in cv. Arbequina. In the non-defoliating pathotype, soil temperatures ranging from 16 to 20°C were estimated to be most favorable for infection. The relationship between stress-related parameters and disease severity determined by multinomial logistic regression and classification trees was able to detect the effects of V. dahliae infection and colonization on water flow that eventually cause water stress.

Chlorophyll content, steady-state chlorophyll fluorescence, and leaf temperature were the best indicators for Verticillium wilt detection at early stages of disease development, while ethylene production and photochemical reflectance index were indicators for disease detection at advanced stages. These results provide a better understanding of the differential geographic distribution of V. dahliae pathotypes and to assess the potential effect of climate change on Verticillium wilt development.