scholarly journals Leaf Spot of Arugula, Caused by Alternaria japonica, in California

Plant Disease ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 98 (9) ◽  
pp. 1272-1272 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. E. Tidwell ◽  
C. L. Blomquist ◽  
S. Rooney-Latham ◽  
H. J. Scheck

Arugula (Eruca vesicaria subsp. sativa (Mill.) Thell. is a Cruciferous plant used for culinary purposes. From 2012 to 2013, a foliar disease seriously impacted the growth and quality of about 0.1 ha of hydroponically grown arugula at a Santa Barbara County nursery. Samples of affected arugula seedlings exhibited adaxial and abaxial symptoms of mottling with circular to oval, water soaked, dark green leaf spots, each 1 to 3 mm in diameter, and some of which coalesced. Conidia of an Alternaria sp. were observed on the foliage. Symptomatic leaf pieces were disinfested with 0.6% NaOCl, blotted dry, and plated on acidified potato dextrose agar (APDA). Cultures were incubated under near-UV lights for 24 h/day. Olivaceous-grey colonies of the same Alternaria species observed on the leaves grew after 7 days. After 21 days on carrot-piece agar (3), the fungus produced beakless conidia with longitudinal and constricted transverse septa that measured 30.0 to 69.0 × 12.5 to 20.0 μm and were borne singly or in short chains of 2 to 3 conidia. In addition, knots of dark, thick-walled micro-chlamydospores were produced by the hyphae. The fungus was identified morphologically as Alternaria japonica Yoshii (2), and the species confirmed by sequence analysis. A portion of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region of ribosomal DNA (rDNA) was amplified using ITS1 and ITS4 primers (4). The sequence (GenBank Accession No. KJ126846) was 100% identical to the ITS rDNA sequence of an isolate of A. japonica (KC584201) using a BLASTn query. A. japonica was also detected in seeds of the lot used to grow the affected arugula crop. Pathogenicity of a single isolate was tested by inoculating four 37-day-old plants each of arugula, cabbage (Brassica oleracea L. var. capitata), and broccoli (B. oleracea L. var. botrytis L.). Inoculum was obtained from 11-day-old cultures of the isolate grown at 24°C on half-strength APDA. Half of a 2.5 cm diameter agar plug containing hyphae and conidia was ground in 2 ml of sterilized water, and the volume of water increased to 45 ml. Leaves of four plants/host species were sprayed with 3.5 to 4.0 ml of inoculum. The inoculated plants and four control plants of each species treated similarly with sterilized water were immediately incubated in a dark dew chamber at 23°C. After 72 h in the dew chamber, inoculated plants of all three hosts produced similar symptoms of wilting, water soaking, and dark green leaf spotting as the original symptomatic field plants. Conidia formed in the leaf spots on both sides of inoculated leaves. A. japonica was re-isolated from all of the inoculated plants but from none of the symptomless control plants using the method previously described. Pathogenicity tests were repeated, with similar results. Although reported in Italy in 2013 (1), to our knowledge, this is the first report of A. japonica on arugula in the United States. References: (1) G. Gilardi et al. Acta Hort. 1005:569, 2013. (2) E. G. Simmons. Page 368 in: Alternaria, An Identification Manual. CBS Fungal Biodiversity Centre, Utrecht, 2007. (3) S. Werres et al. Z. Planzenkr. Pflanzensh. 108:113, 2001. (4) T. J. White et al. Page 315 in: PCR Protocols: A Guide to Methods and Applications. Academic Press, San Diego, CA, 1990.

Plant Disease ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 98 (9) ◽  
pp. 1271-1271 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. Baysal-Gurel ◽  
N. Subedi ◽  
D. P. Mamiro ◽  
S. A. Miller

Dry bulb onion (Allium cepa L. cvs. Pulsar, Bradley, and Livingston) plants with symptoms of anthracnose were observed in three commercial fields totaling 76.5 ha in Huron Co., Ohio, in July 2013. Symptoms were oval leaf lesions and yellowing, curling, twisting, chlorosis, and death of leaves. Nearly half of the plants in a 32.8-ha field of the cv. Pulsar were symptomatic. Concentric rings of acervuli with salmon-colored conidial masses were observed in the lesions. Conidia were straight with tapered ends and 16 to 23 × 3 to 6 μm (2). Colletotrichum coccodes (Wallr.) S. Hughes was regularly isolated from infected plants (2). Culturing diseased leaf tissue on potato dextrose agar (PDA) amended with 30 ppm rifampicin and 100 ppm ampicillin at room temperature yielded white aerial mycelia and salmon-colored conidial masses in acervuli. Numerous spherical, black microsclerotia were produced on the surface of colonies after 10 to 14 days. To confirm pathogen identity, total DNA was extracted directly from a 7-day-old culture of isolate SAM30-13 grown on PDA, using the Wizard SV Genomic DNA Purification System (Promega, Madison, WI) following the manufacturer's instructions. The ribosomal DNA internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region was amplified by PCR using the primer pair ITS1 and ITS4 (2), and sequenced. The sequence, deposited in GenBank (KF894404), was 99% identical to that of a C. coccodes isolate from Michigan (JQ682644) (1). Ten onion seedlings cv. Ebenezer White at the two- to three-leaf stage of growth were spray-inoculated with a conidial suspension (1 × 105 conidia/ml containing 0.01% Tween 20, with 10 ml applied/plant). Plants were maintained in a greenhouse (21 to 23°C) until symptoms appeared. Control plants were sprayed with sterilized water containing 0.01% Tween 20, and maintained in the same environment. After 30 days, sunken, oval lesions each with a salmon-colored center developed on the inoculated plants, and microscopic examination revealed the same pathogen morphology as the original isolates. C. coccodes was re-isolated consistently from leaf lesions. All non-inoculated control plants remained disease-free, and C. coccodes was not re-isolated from leaves of control plants. C. coccodes was reported infecting onions in the United States for the first time in Michigan in 2012 (1). This is the first report of anthracnose of onion caused by C. coccodes in Ohio. Unusually wet, warm conditions in Ohio in 2013 likely contributed to the outbreak of this disease. Timely fungicide applications will be necessary to manage this disease in affected areas. References: (1) A. K. Lees and A. J. Hilton. Plant Pathol. 52:3. 2003. (2) L. M. Rodriguez-Salamanca et al. Plant Dis. 96:769. 2012. (3) T. J. White et al. Page 315 in: PCR Protocols: A Guide to Methods and Applications. Academic Press, San Diego, CA, 1990.


Plant Disease ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 97 (8) ◽  
pp. 1117-1117 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. E. Cho ◽  
J. H. Park ◽  
S. H. Hong ◽  
H. D. Shin

Japanese hop (Humulus japonicus Siebold & Zucc. = H. scandens (Lour.) Merr.), native to East Asia, is an annual, climbing or trailing vine. The vines can spread to cover large areas of open ground or low vegetation, eventually blanketing the land and vegetation. Pollen of H. japonicus is allergenic, and this species is considered as one of the important causes of pollinosis in Korea and China. It is a notorious invasive weed in the United States and also in France, Hungary, and Italy (1). In September 2012, zonate leaf spots were observed on Japanese hops growing in wetlands in Yeongdong County of Korea. A voucher specimen was preserved in the Korea University Herbarium (KUS-F26901). Initial symptoms included grayish-green to grayish-brown spots without border lines. As the lesions enlarged, they coalesced, leading to leaf blight. Sporophores on the leaf lesions were dominantly hypophyllous, rarely epiphyllous, solitary, erect, easily detachable, and as long as 700 μm. The upper portion of the sporophores consisted of a pyramidal head was ventricose, 320 to 520 μm long and 110 to 150 μm wide. The fungus was isolated from leaf lesions and maintained on potato dextrose agar (PDA). Sclerotia were produced on PDA after 4 to 5 weeks at 18°C without light, but conidia were not observed in culture. These morphological and cultural characteristics were consistent with those of Hinomyces moricola (I. Hino) Narumi-Saito & Y. Harada (= Cristulariella moricola (I. Hino) Redhead) (3,4). An isolate was preserved in the Korean Agricultural Culture Collection (Accession No. KACC46955). Genomic DNA was extracted using the DNeasy Plant Mini DNA Extraction Kit (Qiagen Inc., Valencia, CA). The complete internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region of rDNA was amplified with the primers ITS1/ITS4 and sequenced. The resulting sequence of 452 bp was deposited in GenBank (Accession No. KC460209). A BLAST search in GenBank revealed that the sequence showed an exact match with those of C. moricola (JQ036181 ex Acer negundo and JQ036182 ex Glycine max). To determine the pathogenicity of the fungus, according to the procedure of Cho et al. (2), sporophores with the pyramidal head were carefully detached from a lesion on the naturally infected leaf using a needle. Each sporophore was transferred individually onto five places of four detached healthy leaves. The leaves were placed in dew chambers and incubated at 16°C. Symptoms were observed after 2 days on all inoculated leaves. A number of sporophores and immature sclerotia which were morphologically identical to the ones observed in the field were formed on the abaxial surface of the leaf 2 weeks after inoculation. The pathogen was reisolated from lesions on the inoculated leaves, confirming Koch's postulates. No symptoms were observed on the control leaves kept in humid chambers for 2 weeks. H. moricola was known to cause zonate leaf spots and defoliation on a wide range of woody and annual plants (3). To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of Hinomyces infection on Japanese hops in Korea. References: (1) Anonymous. Humulus japonicus (Cannabaceae): Japanese hop. Eur. Medit. Plant Prot. Org. (EPPO). 2012. (2) S. E. Cho et al. Plant Dis. 96:906, 2012. (3) D. F. Farr and A. Y. Rossman. Fungal Databases. Syst. Mycol. Microbiol. Lab., Online publication, ARS, USDA, Retrieved December 8, 2012. (4) S. A. Redhead. Can. J. Bot. 53:700, 1975.


Plant Disease ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 96 (8) ◽  
pp. 1222-1222 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. Isakeit ◽  
B. T. Hassett ◽  
K. L. Ong

In July 2010 in Texas, extensive leaf spots (10 to 30% leaf area affected) occurred on a commercial planting of sesame (Sesamum indicum L.) in Hidalgo County and to a lesser extent (1 to 5% leaf area) on leaves of several varieties in experimental trials in Colorado and Victoria Counties. The leaf spots were light to dark brown, somewhat circular, and 1 to 3 mm in diameter. A symptomatic leaf from each of three to five plants per county was sampled for isolations. Leaves were sprayed with 70% ethanol and immediately blotted dry with a paper towel. The margins of spots (2 mm2) were excised with a scalpel and placed in a drop of sterile water for 5 min. Drops were streaked on nutrient agar (NA) and incubated at 30°C. The 12 isolations consistently yielded gram-negative, rod-shaped bacteria with yellow, translucent colonies that were visible after 2 days of incubation. The DNA of 11 isolates was extracted with the Norgen (Thorold, ON) Bacterial genomic DNA isolation kit (Cat. #17900) and the ITS region was amplified by 16S uni 1330 and 23S uni 322 anti primers (1). PCR products were treated with the ZymoResearch (Irvine, CA) DNA clean & concentrator kit (Cat. #D4003) and sequenced. With the NCBI database, a BLAST search of the 1,100 bp amplicons showed 93 to 99% identity with pathovars of either Xanthomonas oryzae or X. axonopodis (GenBank Accession Nos. CP003057.1 and CP002914.1, respectively). Amplicon sequences of the sesame isolates were deposited in GenBank as Accession Nos. JQ975037 through JQ975047. The reported species on sesame is X. campestris pv. sesami (2). To fulfill Koch's postulates, potted sesame plants (var. Sesaco 25), 15 to 20 cm tall, were sprayed until runoff with a suspension of bacteria (106 to 107 CFU/ml) from a 2-day-old NA culture. All 12 isolates were evaluated, with five to seven plants per isolate. Plants were maintained in a mist chamber in a greenhouse at 27 to 30°C and 100% relative humidity. The pathogenicity trial was repeated once. Leaf spots were first seen 7 days after inoculation and were prevalent 14 days after inoculation. All 12 isolates were pathogenic. There were no symptoms on leaves sprayed with sterile water. Bacteria that produced colonies consistent with Xanthomonas were reisolated on NA from symptomatic leaves but not from controls. The identities of three isolates were reconfirmed with PCR analysis and sequencing. In 2007, more than 2,000 ha of sesame were grown in the continental United States, with 80% of that in Texas. Currently, acreage of shatter-free varieties of sesame is increasing in arid areas of Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas. In such areas, the yield impact of this disease is likely to be minimal, except in years with above-average rainfall. To our knowledge, this is the first report of this disease in the United States. References: (1) E. R. Gonçalves and Y. B. Rosato. Int. J. Syst. Evol. Microbiol. 52:355, 2002. (2) J. M. Young et al., New Zealand J. Agric. Res. 21:153, 1978.


Plant Disease ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 97 (9) ◽  
pp. 1257-1257 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. D. A. Silva ◽  
D. B. Pinho ◽  
B. T. Hora Junior ◽  
O. L. Pereira

Yucca filamentosa L. (Agavaceae), commonly known as Adam's needle, is known in Brazil as “agulha-de-adão.” It is an ornamental garden plant with medicinal properties (4). In 2010, 100% of Y. filamentosa seedlings and plants were observed with a severe leaf spot disease in two ornamental nurseries located in the municipality of Viçosa, Minas Gerais, Brazil. Initially, lesions were dark brown, elliptical, and scattered, and later became grayish at the center with a reddish brown margin, irregular and coalescent. Infected leaf samples were deposited in the herbarium at the Universidade Federal de Viçosa (Accession Nos. VIC32054 and VIC32055). A fungus was isolated from the leaf spots and single-spore pure cultures were obtained on potato dextrose agar (PDA). The sporulating single-spore cultures were deposited at the Coleção de Culturas de Fungos Fitopatogênicos “Prof. Maria Menezes” (CMM 1843 and CMM 1844). On the leaf, the fungus produced pycnidial conidiomata that were scattered or gregarious, usually epiphyllous, immersed, dark brown, unilocular, subglobose, and 95 to 158 × 108 to 175 μm, with a minute, subcircular ostiole. Conidiogenous cells were blastic, hyaline, conoidal, or short cylindrical. Conidia were aseptate, hyaline, smooth walled, coarsely granular, broadly ellipsoidal to subglobose or obovate, usually broadly rounded at both ends, occasionally truncate at the base or indented slightly at the apex, and 7.5 to 13.5 × 6 to 10 μm. Conidia were also surrounded by a slime layer, usually with a hyaline, flexuous, narrowly conoidal or cylindrical, mucilaginous apical appendage that was 10 to 16 μm long. Spermatia were hyaline, dumbbell shaped to cylindrical, both ends bluntly rounded, and 3 to 5 × 1 to 1.5 μm. These characteristics matched well with the description of Phyllosticta yuccae Bissett (1). To confirm this identification, DNA was extracted using a Wizard Genomic DNA Purification Kit and amplified using primers ITS1 and ITS4 (2) for the ITS region (GenBank Accession Nos. JX227945 and JX227946) and EF1-F and EF2-R (3) for the TEF-1α (JX227947 and JX227948). The sequencing was performed by Macrogen, South Korea. The ITS sequence matched sequence No. JN692541, P. yuccae, with 100% identity. To confirm Koch's postulates, four leaves of Y. filamentosa (five plants) were inoculated with 6-mm-diameter plugs from a 7-day-old culture growing on PDA. The leaves were covered with plastic sack and plants were maintained at 25°C. In a similar manner, fungus-free PDA plugs were placed on five control plants. Symptoms were consistently similar to those initially observed in the nurseries and all plants developed leaf spots by 15 days after inoculation. P. yuccae was successfully reisolated from the symptomatic tissue and control plants remained symptomless. P. yuccae has been previously reported in Canada, the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Iran, and the United States of America. To our knowledge, this is the first report of P. yuccae causing disease in Y. filamentosa in Brazil and it may become a serious problem for the nurseries, due to the severity of the disease and the lack of chemical products to control this pathogen. References: (1) J. Bissett. Can. J. Bot. 64:1720, 1986. (2) M. A. Innis et al. PCR Protocols: A guide to methods and applications. Academic Press, 1990. (3) Jacobs et al. Mycol. Res. 108:411, 2004. (4) H. Lorenzi and H. M. Souza. Plantas Ornamentais no Brasil. Instituto Plantarum, 2001.


2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 166-174
Author(s):  
Awad Hamza Abdelmageed ◽  
Mohamed Elkheir Abdelrahman ◽  
Hatil Hashim Alkamali

Genetics of flower Colour in winka Catharanthus roseus (L) G. Don were in vestigate by inheritance two types (strains) of plants with different flowers colour were used in this study,pink corolla, and strong violet-purple eye color, and strong pink stem, and dark green leaf lamina (P), and White corolla, and yellow and greenish eye, and strong pink stem, and yellow and green leaf lamina (W) as parents, to determine the number of genes involved. This study was conducted at Horticulture Administration, Ministry of Agriculture, Kassala State, Sudan during for three years the period: Jan 2016 to Oct. 2020. First the two parents were covered to ensure self-pollination. Reciprocal cross has been carried out between the two inbred parents. The study showed that a single pair of genes is probably involved in flower colour and that gene for pink corolla, and strong violet-purple eye color, and strong pink stem, and dark green leaf lamina (P) is incompletely dominant over that for White corolla, and yellow and greenish eye, and strong pink stem, and yellow and green leaf lamina (W). The reciprocal crosses gave the same results indicating no role of cytoplasmic genes in the inheritance of these colors.


Plant Disease ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 94 (3) ◽  
pp. 374-374 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Berbegal ◽  
A. Pérez-Sierra ◽  
J. Armengol ◽  
C. S. Park ◽  
J. García-Jiménez

Production of persimmon (Diospyros kaki L. f.) has increased significantly during the last decade in Spain as a profitable alternative for fruit growers. In August 2008, after a mild and rainy spring, symptoms of a new disease were observed in commercial persimmon fields located in Valencia Province (eastern-central Spain). Symptoms included circular necrotic spots on the leaves and defoliation. Early fruit maturation and premature abscission were associated with early symptom development in the trees. A fungus was consistently isolated from the margins of leaf lesions. All isolates obtained were hyphal-tipped twice and transferred to potato dextrose agar (PDA). The cultures grew slowly and reached a diameter of 21 to 29 (mean 26) mm within 4 weeks on PDA at 25°C in the dark. Mycelium was initially dark green and ultimately became dark gray to black. Several media and incubation conditions were tested to induce sporulation, but conidia formation was not observed. In April 2009, mature spherical pseudothecia were observed in lesions on fallen leaves that had remained in affected fields during the winter. Ascospores were uniseptate and mostly spindle shaped, 10 to 11.5 (mean 10.3) μm long, and 3 to 3.9 (mean 3.4) μm wide. Fungal colonies obtained from the ascospores were identical to those isolated from the leaf lesions. Morphological characters observed matched those described for the pathogen Mycosphaerella nawae Hiura & Ikata (1). In Korea, the circular leaf spot of persimmon caused by M. nawae was considered an economically important disease in the 1990s, especially in the southern regions (2). Sequences of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region of the rDNA were obtained for isolates MY2 and MY3 and deposited in GenBank (Accession Nos. GQ465767 and GQ465768). These sequences were identical to each other and to the sequence obtained from a Korean isolate of M. nawae. Symptoms of the disease were reproduced after inoculation of 2-year-old persimmon trees growing in individual pots. A ground mycelial suspension (5 × 105 CFU ml–1) of strain MY2 was sprayed onto 20 potted trees (200 ml per individual tree) in late May of 2009. Ten trees were sprayed with sterile distilled water as a control. Trees were incubated at 20°C in a growth chamber with a 12-h photoperiod and covered with a semitransparent plastic hood for the first 10 days after inoculation, after which the plastic was punctured for ventilation and trees were incubated at 22°C. The first symptoms (small circular spots on the leaves) appeared on inoculated trees 15 days after inoculation. One month after inoculation, all inoculated trees showed circular leaf spots and severe defoliation, whereas noninoculated trees remained healthy. M. nawae was successfully reisolated from the lesions. To our knowledge, this is the first report of M. nawae causing circular leaf spot of persimmon in Spain. References: (1) J. H. Kwon et al. Plant Dis. Agric. 1:18, 1995. (2) J. H. Kwon et al. Korean J. Plant Pathol. 14:397, 1998.


Plant Disease ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 98 (6) ◽  
pp. 855-855
Author(s):  
R. N. Trigiano ◽  
T. A. Rinehart ◽  
M. M. Dee ◽  
P. A. Wadl ◽  
L. Poplawski ◽  
...  

Ruth's golden aster (Pityopsis ruthii (Small) Small: Asteraceae) is an endangered, herbaceous perennial that occurs only at a few sites along the Hiwassee and Ocoee rivers in Polk County, Tennessee. This species is drought, heat, and submergence tolerant and has ornamental potential as a fall flowering landscape plant. In 2012, we vegetatively propagated various genotypes and established plantings in a landscape at Poplarville, Mississippi. In June and July of 2013, during periods of hot and humid weather, several well-established plants exhibited black or brown necrotic aerial blight symptoms including desiccation of stems and leaves. Blighted leaf samples were surface sterilized (10% commercial bleach, active ingredient 8.25% sodium hypochlorite, 1 min), rinsed in sterile water, air-dried, and plated on 2% water agar amended with 3.45 mg fenpropathrin/liter (Danitol 2.4 EC, Valent Chemical, Walnut Creek, CA) and 10 mg/liter rifampicin (Sigma-Aldrich, St. Louis, MO). Rhizoctonia sp. was identified based on hyphal morphology and cultures were maintained on potato dextrose agar. Colonies were fast growing, consisting of light tan to brown mycelia and tufts of crystalline aerial hyphae. Within 10 days, brown exudates were present in cultures and there was no pigmented reverse to the agar. Hyphae were a mean of 5.2 μm wide (4.6 to 6.1 μm; n = 10) and each compartment contained three or more nuclei. Hyphae were constricted at septa with right angle branching and no clamp connections, which is typical for Rhizoctonia solani (1). Light- to medium-brown, oblong to irregularly shaped sclerotia measuring 1.2 mm long (0.7 to 2.1 mm) × 0.9 mm wide (0.5 to 1.2 mm; n = 20) were formed in cultures after 3 weeks of growth. Total genomic DNA was extracted from two different colonies grown in potato dextrose broth for 7 days, amplified with PCR using ITS1 and ITS4 primers for amplification of the 18S rDNA subunit (2), the products purified, and sequenced. A consensus sequence of 657 bp was deposited in GenBank (Accession Nos. KF843729 and KF843730) and was 96% identical to two R. solani Kühn ITS sequences in GenBank (HF678125 and HF678122). R. solani was grown on twice autoclaved oats for 2 weeks at 21°C and incorporated into Pro-Mix BX, low fertility soilless medium (Premier Horticulture, Rivière-du-Loup, Quebec, Canada) at 4% (w/w) to inoculate seven P. ruthii plants grown in 10 cm-diameter pots; seven additional plants were grown in the same medium amended with 4% (w/w) sterile oats. Plants were grown in a greenhouse and covered with a plastic dome to maintain high humidity. After 2 weeks, six of the seven inoculated plants exhibited the same aerial blight symptoms as did the original infected plants from the field; none of the control plants developed disease symptoms. Colony morphology and hyphal characteristics as well as the sequence for the ITS region of rDNA from the re-isolated fungus were identical to the original isolate. To our knowledge, this is the first report of R. solani infecting Ruth's golden aster. We are not aware of the disease occurring in wild populations of the plant, but may impact plants grown in the landscape or greenhouse. References: (1) B. Sneh et al. Identification of Rhizoctonia Species. The American Phytopathological Society, St Paul, MN, 1991. (2) T. J. White et al. Page 315 in: PCR Protocols: A Guide to Methods and Applications. M. A. Innis et al., eds. Academic Press, San Diego, CA, 1990.


Plant Disease ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 96 (10) ◽  
pp. 1579-1579 ◽  
Author(s):  
Q. R. Bai ◽  
S. Han ◽  
Y. Y. Xie ◽  
R. Dong ◽  
J. Gao ◽  
...  

Daylily (Hemerocallis spp.) is an herbaceous, perennial plant, cultivated for its flowers. Daylily is sold in Asian markets as fresh or dried flowers (the flowers of some species, e.g., Hemerocallis citrina, are edible) or as the corm, which is used for medicinal purposes. In June 2011, daylily leaf streak was found in a nursery of Jilin Agricultural University, Jilin Province, China. Symptoms included water-soaked, irregular spots along the leaf midvein that turned orange to reddish brown and eventually enlarged to coalesce into extensive, necrotic streaks along the length of the leaf, as previously reported (2). Heavily infected leaves often withered and died. Four isolates were recovered from necrotic tissue of leaf spots and cultured on potato dextrose agar (PDA) at 25°C. All colonies were initially cream to peach colored and appeared slimy. With the maturation of the culture, the colonies became dark brown to black with sparse aerial hyphae. Blastic conidia formed simultaneously on intercalary or terminal, undifferentiated conidiogenous cells, and were scattered in dense sections on culture surface. When the conidia dropped from conidiogenous cell, an indistinct scar or a denticle remained. Conidia were hyaline, one-celled, smooth, ellipsoidal, and variable in size (2.73 to 6.01 × 8.45 to 19.36 μm), and all morphological characteristics were consistent with Kabatiella microsticta Bubak (syn. Aureobasidium microstictum; 2,4). The internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region of the nuclear rDNA was amplified using primers ITS4/ITS5 (1). ITS (534 bp) was identical among all four isolates (GenBank Accession No. HE798117) and 100% identical to that of K. microsticta CBS 114.64 (FJ150873). Pathogenicity was confirmed by spraying 20 seedlings of daylily, propagated in tissue-culture medium, with a conidial suspension (106 conidia/ml) of each isolate. A second set of 20 seedlings was sprayed with the same volume of sterile water as the noninoculated control treatment. Plants were grown in the greenhouse at 20 to 25°C and were covered with plastic bags to maintain humidity on the foliage for 72 h. After 5 days, the foliar symptoms described earlier for the field plants appeared on the leaves, whereas the control plants remained healthy. K. microsticta was reisolated from the leaf spots of all 20 inoculated plants. Leaf streak is the most destructive disease of daylily, and was previously reported in Japan and the United States (Illinois, Kentucky, Mississippi, Louisiana, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, Florida, North Carolina, and Georgia) (3). To our knowledge, this is the first report of the disease caused by K. microsticta in China. References: (1) D. E. L. Cooke et al. Mycol. Res. 101:667, 1997. (2) E. J. Hermanides-Nijhof. Stud. Mycol. 15:153, 1977. (3) R. M. Leahy et al. Plant Pathology Circular No. 376, 1996. (4) P. Zalar et al. Stud. Mycol. 61:21, 2008.


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