Seminar by Dr Nieves Capote

Seminar abstract
Species of the Botryosphaeriaceae family are the causal agent of Botryosphaeria dieback, a fungal disease that threatens many economically important woody crops, including almond. These fungi produce latent infections, allowing them to easily pass undetected by phytosanitary systems in nurseries and traded living plants, as well as in plants in the field. Symptoms develop when the host plant is under biotic or abiotic stress. The banning of most chemical fungicides by EU regulations and the current climate change have dramatically increased the prevalence of this disease. Among Botryosphaeriaceae species, Botryosphaeria dothidea is the most prevalent in almond crops in Spain, while Neofusicoccum parvum the most aggressive in almond and other woody crops worldwide. The main objective of this work is the development of sustainable methods for the control of Botryosphaeria dieback. Three different strategies will be presented: i) preventive control based on qPCR detection, ii) biological control based on antagonistic bacteria, and iii) hypovirulence.

Bio Nieves Capote
Nieves Capote is a molecular plant pathologist at the Andalusian Institute of Agricultural and Fisheries Research and Training (IFAPA) in Seville, Spain. Her area of expertise is Sustainable Plant Protection. Her research focuses on designing molecular tools for the detection and characterization of plant pathogenic microorganisms, and studying the population structure of pathogens, with an emphasis on viruses and fungi. This research has covered different crops including stone fruit, strawberry, olive, holm oak, avocado, blueberry, almond and grapevine. She is a member of the board of directors of the Spanish Society of Phytopathology (SEF) and its Specialized Group in Diagnosis, Detection, and Identification (GEDDI).

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