Find in Library

(1) Background. An extensive survey of grapevine-sown cover crops and spontaneous weed flora was conducted from 2019 to 2020 in organic vineyards in six European countries (France, Italy, Romania, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland). Our main objective was to detect and identify the presence of <i>Cylindrocarpon</i>-like asexual morphs species associated with black-foot disease on their roots. (2) Methods. Fungal isolations from root fragments were performed on culture media. <i>Cylindrocarpon</i>-like asexual morph species were identified by analyzing the DNA sequence data of the histone H3 (<i>his3</i>) gene region. In all, 685 plants belonging to different botanical families and genera were analyzed. <i>Cylindrocarpon</i>-like asexual morphs were recovered from 68 plants (9.9% of the total) and approximately 0.97% of the plated root fragments. (3) Results. Three fungal species (<i>Dactylonectria</i> <i>alcacerensis</i>, <i>Dactylonectria torresensis</i>, <i>Ilyonectria</i> <i>robusta</i>) were identified. <i>Dactylonectria</i> <i>torresensis</i> was the most frequent, and was isolated from many cover crop species in all six countries. A principal component analysis with the vineyard variables showed that seasonal temperatures and organic matter soil content correlated positively with <i>Cylindrocarpon</i>-like asexual morphs incidence. (4) Conclusions. The presence of <i>Cylindrocarpon</i>-like asexual morphs on roots of cover crops suggests that they can potentially act as alternative hosts for long-term survival or to increase inoculum levels in vineyard soils.