Crops > Plantation crops > Passionfruit > Agrobacterium, crown gall, New Caledonia



Crops > Plantation crops > Passionfruit > Agrobacterium, crown gall, New Caledonia

Crops Plantation crops Passionfruit Agrobacterium, crown gall, New Caledonia

Crown gall

July 2002. New Caledonia asked about the corky, very hard lumps growing from the stems of passionfruit, some partly green. Even the tendrils are affected.

It was identified as crown gall, Agrobacterium tumefaciens. The CABI Crop Protection Compendium lists Passiflora as a host. A photo of crown gall on raspberry canes was sent for comparison; it looks quite similar (photo, right). Such symptoms had been seen elsewhere in the Pacific and, as mites were not found, bacteria was thought a good possibility.