Abstract
Blueberries (Vaccinium spp.) have been widely cultivated in China because of their nutritional benefits and economic value. Blueberry stem blight has become one of the most severe diseases influencing blueberry productivity and quality in China. In this study, eight fungal isolates were obtained from twenty stem blight lesions of blueberry collected in Nanping, Fujian province, China. Asexual stage was observed after inducing sporulation, the morphology of which agrees with Macrophomina in the black, smooth, hard sclerotia and ellipsoid to obovoid, smooth hyaline conidia with apical sheath. Furthermore, DNA sequences of concatenated ITS, tef1-α, TUB, and ACT loci indicated that these isolates belong to a novel fungal species. The distinguishing morphological characteristics, such as the wider conidia and larger conidiomata pycnidial, also support its new status. Thus a novel fungus, Macrophominavaccinii, was described in this study. Pathogenicity tests indicated that M.vaccinii could cause stem blight of blueberry.
Highlights
Blueberries (Vaccinium spp.) are popular fruits because of their health benefits health, such as enhancing brain memory and preventing heart disease (Shi and Liu 2009, Popović et al 2018)
Macrophomina vaccinii was collected from the lesion of stem blight in Fujian province in China, a subtropical area in China
Charcoal rot of beans is caused by M. phaseolina, this has frequently been reported in the northern part of China, with a disease incidence of 80% in Beijing and Tianjin (Zhang et al 2009, 2011, Sun et al 2015)
Summary
Blueberries (Vaccinium spp.) are popular fruits because of their health benefits health, such as enhancing brain memory and preventing heart disease (Shi and Liu 2009, Popović et al 2018). Blueberry cultivation in China started in 1981, and the planted area has reached 31,210 hectares with total production of 114, 905 t in 2017 (Li et al 2018). Lin Zhao et al / MycoKeys 54: 1–14 (2019). Stem blight disease was one of the most prevalent diseases in blueberry cultivation areas in China, which has seriously affected the growth of blueberry plants, fruit quality and productivity (Yu et al 2012, 2013a, b, Xu et al 2015, Xu 2016)
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