Occurrence of Pestalotiopsis lushanensis causing leaf blight on Buddhist pine in China.

Buddhist pine (Podocarpus macrophyllus) is a widely cultivated evergreen tree species with high ornamental and economic value. Recently, severe leaf blight on Buddhist pine was detected in Anhui Province, China. Seven single-spore isolates obtained from symptomatic samples were identified as Pestalotiopsis lushanensis on the basis of morphology and multilocus (internal transcribed spacer region, translation elongation factor 1-α and β-tubulin) phylogenetic analysis. Pathogenicity tests of potted Buddhist pine seedlings revealed that regardless of whether a conidial suspension or mycelial disk was used, inoculation of P. lushanensis could result in leaf blight symptoms similar to those observed in the field.. These results have important implications for further research on targeted prevention and control strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]