Incidence of Asiatic Citrus Canker on Trifoliate Orange and Its Hybrid Accessions in a Florida Field Planting

Abstract

Asiatic citrus canker (ACC) foliar lesions were evaluated on progenies of 84 seed-source genotypes (“parent genotypes”) from the Citrus Variety Collection (CVC) of the University of California at Riverside (UCR) of Citrus trifoliata and hybrids between C. trifoliata and other Citrus species and hybrids. Trees were planted Aug. 2013 in a completely randomized design at the Fort Pierce U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) grove. Plants were assessed visually Aug. 2017, Sept. 2019, and Sept. 2020 for distinctive ACC lesion incidence and severity. Progeny were compared by parent genotypes using nonparametric analysis. Incidence of ACC [percentage of leaves displaying symptoms, verified by quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) to be associated with Xanthomonas citri pv. citri] across parent genotypes ranged from 8% to 80% (mean, 49%) of leaves affected in 2017, from 4% to 58% (mean, 29%) in 2019, and 8% to 46% (mean, 25%) in 2020. In 2017, of 49 C. trifoliata parent genotypes, only four separated from the two highest ACC-incidence statistical categories [Citrus Research Center (CRC) 3345, 3484, 3888, and 4017]. whereas 29 of the 35 C. trifoliata hybrids displayed lower ACC incidence, which separated from the two highest statistical categories. In 2019, of the C. trifoliata, only six separated from the highest ACC-incidence statistical category (CRC 3330, 3484, 3547, 3549, 3876, and 3888), whereas all 35 C. trifoliata hybrids displayed lower ACC incidence and separated from the highest statistical category, and 26 hybrids separated from 18 of the C. trifoliata. In 2020, only three C. trifoliata separated from the highest ACC-incidence statistical category (CRC 2861, 3549, and 3888) and 20 hybrids separated from 18 of the C. trifoliata. By parent genotype, ACC incidence correlated substantially between each pair of the 3 years, with r2 values of 0.39, 0.57, and 0.65. Of 34 hybrids validated, similar numbers had C. trifoliata, grapefruit (C. ×aurantium var. racemosa), and sweet orange (C. ×aurantium var. sinensis) chloroplasts. Chloroplast type affected ACC incidence and severity, but not in a consistent manner. Near-isogenic groups within C. trifoliata, as determined by DNA markers, were associated with some statistically different ACC sensitivity. Overall, hybrids of C. trifoliata with other citrus types displayed markedly reduced ACC sensitivity compared with C. trifoliata, indicating that this trait is readily overcome through breeding.