First Report of Olive Branch Dieback in Croatia Caused by Défago.

Olive ( L.) is a very important crop grown in the Mediterranean part of Croatia. Olive branch and fruit dieback symptoms were observed in two olive orchards in Istria, Croatia.

First report of Pseudomonas mediterranea causing tomato pith necrosis in Croatia.

In May 2021, a tomato producer reported an occurrence of a disease unknown so far in a greenhouse near Split, Croatia. About 30% of plants (cultivar Signora) have been affected. Symptoms resembled tomato pith necrosis, bacterial disease caused by Pseudomonas corrugata, known to occur sporadically in tomato greenhouse production in Croatia.

The first report on mushroom green mould disease in Croatia.

Green mould disease, caused by Trichoderma species, is a severe problem for mushroom growers worldwide, including Croatia. Trichoderma strains were isolated from green mould-affected Agaricus bisporus (button or common mushroom) compost and Pleurotus ostreatus (oyster mushroom) substrate samples collected from Croatian mushroom farms. The causal agents of green mould disease in the oyster mushroom were T.

Identification of Fusarium species isolated from stored apple fruit in Croatia.

Several species of the genus Fusarium can cause apple fruit to rot while stored. Since Fusarium taxonomy is very complex and has constantly been revised and updated over the last years, the aim of this study was to identify Fusarium species from rotten apples, based on combined morphological characteristics and molecular data. We identified 32 Fusarium isolates from rotten apple fruit of cultivars Golden Delicious, Jonagold, Idared, and Pink Lady, stored in Ultra Low Oxygen (ULO) conditions.

Ochratoxin A contamination of food from Croatia.

Ochratoxin A (OTA) is a mycotoxin with nephrotoxic, genotoxic and carcinogenic properties produced by Penicillium and Aspergillus moulds under different climatic conditions. Humans and animals are exposed to this compound mainly via ingestion of contaminated food. In Croatia, research on mycotoxins focused on OTA when the mycotoxin theory of endemic nephropathy (EN) was postulated.

Fusarium spp. contamination of wheat, maize, soybean, and pea grain in Croatia.

From 2002 to 2008, 203 samples of wheat, maize, soybean, and pea were analysed for the presence of Fusarium species. Contamination with Fusarium spp., expressed as the percentage of seeds with Fusarium colonies, ranged from 5 % to 69 % for wheat, from 25 % to 100 % for maize, from 4 % to 17 % for soybean, and from 3 % to 17 % for pea.

Mould contamination and co-occurrence of mycotoxins in maize grain in Croatia.

Maize grain samples (n=15) collected during the autumn of 2002 were analyzed for the presence of moulds and mycotoxins fumonisin B1 (FB1), fumonisin B2 (FB2), zearalenone (ZEA), and ochratoxin A (OTA). Mycological analysis showed that all samples were contaminated with Fusarium spp. and Penicillium spp.

Fumonisin B1, fumonisin B2, zearalenone and ochratoxin A contamination of maize in Croatia.

Mycotoxins are products of moulds that frequently contaminate maize. In this study the presence of mycotoxins fumonisin B1 (FB1), fumonisin B2 (FB2), zearalenone (ZEA) and ochratoxin A (OTA) was determined in 49 maize grain samples collected in autumn 2002. The most frequent finding was that of FB1(100%), followed by ZEA (84%) and OTA (39%), while FB2 was found only in three samples.