LAUSR

In the past 2 years’ greenhouse vegetable production in Albania has increased up to 200% (ATA, 2014). In 2016, surveys were conducted in the Lushnja province (central west of Albania) in approximately 217 cucumber greenhouses to determine the causal agent of cucumber wilting. More than 25% (52 out of 217) of greenhouses contained plants with clear crown rot, sudden permanent wilt without a change in foliar color and damping-off. Some plants had a limited amount of feeder roots. Plants often collapsed within a week of symptom appearance. Fibrous root samples were collected from 35 symptomatic cucumber plants (cv. Palmiera). The roots were mixed with water and sterile soil, and healthy cucumber fruits were used as baits (Dhingra & Sinclair, 1985). Isolations were made onto PDA from lesions that formed after 3-4 days on the baited cucumbers. Colonies with growth patterns characteristic of Phytophthora spp. were obtained from 33 of the 35 samples. Pure cultures were obtained by single-hyphal transfers, and 30...