Trunk Xylem Anatomy of Mature Healthy and Blighted Grapefruit Trees on Several Rootstocks

Abstract

Wood samples were taken from healthy and blighted citrus trees on several rootstocks to describe and compare the xylem anatomy of the healthy trees and to determine if blight altered xylogenesis. Horizontal trunk xylem cores, 6 cm long, were extracted from blighted 18-year-old commercial grapefruit (Citrus paradisi Macf.) trees on rough lemon (RL) (C. jambhiri Lush.), Cleopatra mandarin (CM) (C. reshni Hort. ex Tan.), and Carrizo citrange (CC) [C. sinensis (L). Osb. × Poncirus trifoliata (L.) Raf] and from healthy trees on those rootstocks and sour orange (SO) (C. aurantium L.). Cores were taken from the eastern and western sides of the scion and rootstock of each tree. The cores were divided into 2-cm pieces and cross-sections were prepared for analysis of vessel element (VE) number and diameter in 0.5-cm increments. A sample-size study showed that tree side was not a significant source of variation and that 10 replications were sufficient to detect differences of ≈12% from the overall mean. Among the healthy trees, VE densities and diameters were similar for the trees on CC or RL and larger than those for trees on SO or CM. VEs were generally smaller and at lower densities in the scion than the rootstock. Few VE occlusions were observed in the healthy trees. In the blighted trees, to a depth of 1 cm, VE density increased and diameter decreased compared to the healthy trees. The largest change occurred in the trees on RL and in the rootstock vs. scion trunk part. The frequency of VE amorphous plugs in blighted trees ranged from 1% to 30%. Similar changes in xylem anatomy were not found in trees with citrus tristeza virus or soilborne pests. Trunk water uptake and dye movement patterns in blighted trees were typical for trees with xylem dysfunction.