RESEARCH

REPORTS

OLIVE TRUNK PATHOGENS

Olive trunk diseases comprise a syndrome of various wood-related symptoms such as dieback, cankers, wilting, etc. No research had been done on the epidemiology of olive trunk pathogens in South Africa prior to this project. The project was funded by DTIC’s THRIP and carried out by ARC and UWC.

SOILBORNE PATHOGENS

Soilborne pathogens of olive trees are widely distributed in Western Cape orchards, but the incidence and distribution of some highly virulent species, such as Phytophthora spp., appear to be limited, while some other pathogens have very broad distributions. This project aimed to identify such pathogens, determine their pathogenicity, and investigate management options. The project was funded by the Dept of Agriculture of Western Cape, under the Alternative Crop Fund, and carried out by ARC.

SURVEY OF LACE BUG AND FLEA BEETLE

A survey of four groups of olive pests was conducted during the olive-growing seasons 2020 and 2021 – olive flea beetles, olive seed weevils, olive lace bugs and olive psyllids. The species diversity of olive lace bugs was higher than expected but the diversity of olive flea beetles was lower. Olive seed weevils were represented by a single species. Preliminary results on olive psyllids indicate that only one species is present. The project was funded by the Department of Agriculture of Western Cape through the Alternative Crop Fund, and executed by Stellenbosch Universtiy.