Vol. 64 No. 2 (2025)
Articles

Botryosphaeriaceae fungi associated with apricot dieback and gummosis in Türkiye

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  • Mukaddes KAYIM,
  • Marcelo I. BUSTAMANTE,
  • Ali̇ ENDES,
  • Aki̇f ESKALEN
Mukaddes KAYIM
Department of Plant Protection, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Çukurova, Balcalı 01330, Adana, Türkiye
Marcelo I. BUSTAMANTE
Department of Plant Pathology, University of California, Davis CA 95616, California, USA
Ali̇ ENDES
Department of Plant Protection, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Yozgat Bozok, Yozgat, Türkiye
Aki̇f ESKALEN
Department of Plant Pathology, University of California, Davis CA 95616, California, USA
DOI: https://doi.org/10.36253/phyto-15991
Categories

Published 2025-09-12

Keywords

  • Diplodia,
  • Etiology,
  • Lasiodiplodia,
  • Neofusicoccum,
  • Prunus armeniaca

How to Cite

[1]
M. KAYIM, M. I. BUSTAMANTE, A. ENDES, and A. ESKALEN, “Botryosphaeriaceae fungi associated with apricot dieback and gummosis in Türkiye”, Phytopathol. Mediterr., vol. 64, no. 2, pp. 205–218, Sep. 2025.

Copyright (c) 2025 Mukaddes KAYIM, Marcelo I. BUSTAMANTE, Ali̇ ENDES, Aki̇f ESKALEN

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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Abstract

Apricot (Prunus armeniaca L.) is an important and widely grown fruit crop in Türkiye. In the last 15 years, symptoms of branch dieback and gummosis have been observed in commercial apricot orchards. A survey conducted in 2015 across 44 apricot orchards in the Adana and Mersin provinces revealed consistent infections caused by Botryosphaeriaceae fungi. From symptomatic branch samples (n = 232), a total of 128 fungal isolates with botryosphaeriaceous morphology were recovered, representing an incidence of 55.2%. Preliminary morphological identifications suggested the presence of three species. Representative isolates from each morphological group were identified as Diplodia seriata (n = 10), Neofusicoccum parvum (n = 7), and Lasiodiplodia mediterranea (n = 1), based on phylogenetic analyses of nucleotide sequences from the ribosomal DNA internal transcribed spacer, beta-tubulin and translation elongation factor 1-alpha genes. Mycelium growth rates were different among the three species, and the optimal growth temperatures were estimated as 26.2°C for D. seriata, 27.4°C for N. parvum, and 28.9°C for L. mediterranea. Pathogenicity of the identified fungi was confirmed on 2-year-old ‘Tyrinthe’ apricot seedlings, with L. mediterranea being the most virulent, followed by D. seriata, and N. parvum. This is the first report of D. seriata, N. parvum, and L. mediterranea causing branch dieback and gummosis of apricot in Türkiye.

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