Phomopsis amygdali causes peach shoot blight of cultivated peach trees in the southeastern United States

Abstract

Phomopsis shoot blight of peach is an increasingly common fungal disease in southeastern peach growing areas of the United States. A similar disease has been reported from Europe where it occurs on both peach and almond. Strains of Phomopsis were obtained from peach, asian pear and plum in the United States and from almond in Spain and Italy. Examination of the morphological, cultural and molecular characteristics of these strains showed that the Phomopsis amygdali on almond in Europe is the same as the fungus found on peach in the USA. The species of Phomopsis on plum and asian pear in the United States is different from P. amygdali.