El foc bacterià. Factors que influeixen en el desenvolupament d'infeccions latents i avaluació de mètodes de control mitjançant elicitores químics i biològics de la resposta defensiva de l'hoste

This Project deal with the need for continuing the research in several aspects related to the epidemiology and control of FIRE blight in Spain, which are needed for an integrated management of the disease. Fire blight is a quarantine disease in the European Union affecting several species of rosaceous plants, mainly fruit trees like apple, pear and nespilus, and several ornamental plants. The project is grouped into three coordinated subprojects in which two of the participating groups are specialized on epidemiology detection and control of bacterial diseases of crops (Universidad de Girona, Instituto Valenciano de Investigaciones Agrarias), and a third group specialized in the study of diversity of bacterial communities (UAB). The objectives of the research take into account results and new questions obtained in the previous projects CICYT AGF98-0402 and AGL2001-2349, and are: (1) determine the biological basis, inducing environmental factors, and methods for determination of the viable but non-culturable state in E. amylovora (2) to develop a combined system to induce defence responses in the host plant by means of chemical and biological elicitors for integrated control of fire blight, and specially of latent infections, and (3) to study the impact and non-terget effects of chemical and biological elicitors on the microbial biota associated to host plants, according to the European directive 91-244CEE