Abstract
Citrus trees with cankers and dieback symptoms were observed in Bushehr (Bushehr province, Iran). Isolations were made from diseased cankers and branches. Recovered fungal isolates were identified using cultural and morphological characteristics, as well as comparisons of DNA sequence data of the nuclear ribosomal DNA-internal transcribed spacer region, translation elongation factor 1α, β-tubulin, and actin gene regions. Dothiorella viticola, Lasiodiplodia theobromae, Neoscytalidium hyalinum, Phaeoacremonium (P.) parasiticum, P. italicum, P. iranianum, P. rubrigenum, P. minimum, P. croatiense, P. fraxinopensylvanicum, Phaeoacremonium sp., Cadophora luteo-olivacea, Biscogniauxia (B.) mediterranea, Colletotrichum gloeosporioides, C. boninense, Peyronellaea (Pa.) pinodella, Stilbocrea (S.) walteri, and several isolates of Phoma, Pestalotiopsis, and Fusarium species were obtained from diseased trees. The pathogenicity tests were conducted by artificial inoculation of excised shoots of healthy acid lime trees (Citrus aurantifolia) under controlled conditions. Lasiodiplodia theobromae was the most virulent and caused the longest lesions within 40 days of inoculation. According to literature reviews, this is the first report of L. theobromae and N. hyalinum on citrus in Iran. Additionally, we report several Phaeoacremonium species, S. walteri, Pa. pinodella and C. luteo-olivacea on citrus trees for the first time in the world.
Highlights
Iran is the sixth largest Citrus producer, accounting for 3.3% of the world’s Citrus production, which yielded 4.1 million tons in 2016 [1]
Cultural and morphological characteristics observed were similar with the description of the Cadophora spp
Cultural and morphological characteristics observed were similar with the description of the Cadophora spp. [43,44]
Summary
Iran is the sixth largest Citrus producer, accounting for 3.3% of the world’s Citrus production, which yielded 4.1 million tons in 2016 [1]. A total of 276,000 ha of various Citrus species are cultivated in Iran, including sweet orange (Citrus sinensis L.), acid lime (C. aurantifolia (Christm.). The most important producing regions in Iran are Mazandaran, Fars, Hormozgan, Giroft, and Kahnouj. Fungal trunk diseases have been studied in detail in grapevine, which are the main biotic factor limiting vineyard productivity and longevity [2]. Trunk diseases are caused by a broad range of taxonomically unrelated fungi that primarily infect wood hosts through winter pruning wounds, colonizing the vascular tissues. Members of the families Botryosphaeriaceae, Togninaceae, Diatrypaceae, Diaporthaceae, as well as several basidiomycetes are included in this group of fungi.
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