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Journal of Integrative Agriculture  2019, Vol. 18 Issue (4): 815-820    DOI: 10.1016/S2095-3119(18)62033-7
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Fire blight disease, a fast-approaching threat to apple and pear production in China
ZHAO Yu-qiang1*, TIAN Yan-li2*, WANG Li-min2, GENG Guo-min1, ZHAO Wen-jun3, HU Bai-shi2, ZHAO You-fu
1 Jiangsu Key Laboratory for the Research and Utilization of Plant Resources, Institute of Botany, Jiangsu Province and Chinese Academy of Sciences (Nanjing Botanical Garden Mem. Sun Yat-Sen), Nanjing 210014, P.R.China
2 College of Plant Protection, Nanjing Agricultural University/Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Crop Diseases and Pests, Ministry of Education, Nanjing 210095, P.R.China
3 Chinese Academy of Inspection and Quarantine, Beijing 100029, P.R.China
4 Department of Crop Sciences, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana 61801, USA
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Abstract  
Fire blight, caused by Erwinia amylovora, is a devastating disease of apples and pears, causing enormous economic losses around the world.  The disease is indigenous to North America and has spread to more than 50 countries since its discovery in 1870s.  Recent reports of the disease in China’s neighboring countries, including South Korea, Kyrgyzstan, and Kazakhstan, pose great threat to the world’s leading producer of apples and pears.  This mini-review intends to provide an update on the disease, pathogen biology, epidemiology, and control.  It will also provide some perspectives and suggestions for the apple and pear industry and growers in China, which will face the imminent threat of this devastating disease.  
 
Keywords:  fire blight        Erwinia amylovora        biology        epidemiology        disease control  
Received: 11 February 2018   Accepted:
Fund: This research was supported by the National Key R&D Program of China (2016YFC1201200) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (31500107 and 31772231).
Corresponding Authors:  Correspondence HU Bai-shi, Tel: +86-25-84396012, E-mail: hbs@njau.edu.cn; ZHAO You-fu, Tel: +1-217-2659822, E-mail: Zhao888@illinois.edu    
About author:  ZHAO Yu-qiang, E-mail: 864130936@qq.com; TIAN Yan-li, E-mail: tianyanli@njau.edu.cn; * These authors contributed equally to this study.

Cite this article: 

ZHAO Yu-qiang, TIAN Yan-li, WANG Li-min, GENG Guo-min, ZHAO Wen-jun, HU Bai-shi, ZHAO You-fu. 2019. Fire blight disease, a fast-approaching threat to apple and pear production in China. Journal of Integrative Agriculture, 18(4): 815-820.

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