Genetic Diversity of Pseudomonas savastanoi pv. savastanoi in California and Characterization of Epidemiological Factors for Olive Knot Development.

Olive knot, caused by Pseudomonas savastanoi pv. savastanoi, is a limiting disease in the production of table and oil olives in California. The genetic variability among 152 strains from major production areas of California was determined using BOX, ERIC, and REP primers in repetitive element sequence-based polymerase chain reaction. Overall genetic variability was low, and strains shared at least 82% similarity. Phenetic analyses identified several genotypes but most strains belonged to one of two major groups. Three copper-resistant strains had two fingerprints that were distinct from any of the sensitive strains, indicating that they may have been introduced from other production areas or hosts. In inoculations, two copper-resistant strains were mostly equally as virulent as two copper-sensitive strains. Inoculum was exuded at high levels (>108 CFU/g of knot tissue) within 10 min from hydrated olive knots, and concentrations were 2- to 3-log higher than the minimum needed to induce knot formation. Arbequina olive was significantly more susceptible to infection and developed a higher incidence of knots on leaf scar and lateral wounds (59.7 to 80.6% incidence) than Manzanillo (47.4 to 68.2% incidence). In wound-healing studies, both types of wounds were less susceptible to infection ≥10 days after injury, indicating a critical period for infection and application of bactericides during favorable environments.