VARIATION OF MINERAL ELEMENT CONTENTS IN CHINESE JUJUBE WITH WITCHES' BROOM DISEASE

J. Zhao, M.J. Liu
Chinese jujube (Ziziphus jujuba Mill.), a popular fruit species is being endangered with the destructive disease namely jujube witches’ broom disease (JWB) caused by phytoplasma. In order to reveal the physiological influences of phytoplasma on Chinese jujube, the content variations of seven kinds of mineral elements were determined using atomic absorption spectrophotometer in healthy, diseased and diseased trees cured with oxytetracycline. The results revealed that the contents of mineral elements varied greatly between the healthy and diseased trees. The K contents in diseased leaves was significantly higher than in healthy leaves, while the contents of Ca, Mg and Mn in the diseased leaves were significantly lower than those in the healthy leaves. The Fe content in the diseased leave was lower in the late growing season. There were no significant differences between the healthy and diseased leaves in the contents of Cu and Zn. In addition, the contents and variation trends of above mentioned mineral elements were similar between the healthy and diseased trees cured with oxytetracycline. These results provide a theoretical foundation for recovering the diseased trees.
Zhao, J. and Liu, M.J. (2009). VARIATION OF MINERAL ELEMENT CONTENTS IN CHINESE JUJUBE WITH WITCHES' BROOM DISEASE. Acta Hortic. 840, 399-404
DOI: 10.17660/ActaHortic.2009.840.55
https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2009.840.55
Chinese jujube, witches' broom disease, mineral element, content, variation
English

Acta Horticulturae