biologia plantarum

Biologia plantarum 5:59-67, 1963 | DOI: 10.1007/BF02933667

Necrosis of Aesculus hippocastanum L.

Jaroslav Smolák¹

¹ College of Agriculture, Praha

The work described here was carried out during the last three years mainly on the castle premises at Lužany near Přeštice (Hlávka's foundation). It dealt with the disease of the horse chestnut-tree (Aesculus hippocastanum L.). The symptoms and their development have also been observed at a number of other places. According to the classification ofBose (Wageningen) the symptoms belong to the groups of Colour changes (II), Necrosis (IV), Deformation (VII) and partly also Growth reduction (of fruits). We are dealing here with a disease that was described bySorauer andThomas 60 years ago as abiosis. Since some of the symptoms suggested a virus origin of the disease some diagnostic tests were carried out. The serological test was negative on account of the chemical composition of chestnut leaves which are not amenable to such tests. Grafting and inoculating tests on healthy seedlings were positive. Viral necrosis of the horse chestnut is a disease of the system which is not transferred by contact. It is readily transferred by grafting and inoculating. Some symptoms suggest that it can also partly be transferred by seeds.

Received: January 15, 1962; Published: March 1, 1963  Show citation