Involvement of Phytophthora citrophthora in Kiwifruit Decline in Turkey

Vine decline of kiwifruit was found in an orchard in the Rize province in Turkey. About half of the vines showed poor growth, leaf discoloration and dieback symptoms. From the necrotic feeder roots of the diseased vines, a Phytophthora sp. was isolated. The causal agent of the disease was identified as Phytophthora citrophthora by morphological characteristics and comparing sequences of Internal Transcribed Spacer (ITS) region. Phytophthora citrophthora caused bark necroses averaging 4.2 +/- 1.4 cm in length when inoculated on the rooted canes.