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Title: First report of leaf spot caused by Colletotrichum linicola on field bindweed in Turkey

Author
item TUNALI, BERNA - ONDOKUZ MAYIS UNIV TURKEY
item Berner, Dana
item Dubin, Harvey

Submitted to: Plant Disease
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 11/2/2007
Publication Date: 2/1/2008
Citation: Tunali, B., Berner, D.K., Dubin, H. 2008. First report of leaf spot caused by Colletotrichum linicola on field bindweed in Turkey. Plant Disease. 92:316.

Interpretive Summary: Field bindweed is one of the most problematic weeds in the world and a target of biological control efforts. In the summer of 2006, dying field bindweed plants were found around Bafra, Samsun, Turkey. A fungus, was isolated from diseased leaves and proved to be the disease-causing organism. The fungus conformed to the description of Colletotrichum linicola and DNA sequences confirmed this identification. This fungus is a destructive pathogen on field bindweed and severe disease can be produced by spraying foliage with a liquid suspension of fungus spores. To our knowledge, this is the first report of C. linicola, or any other Colletotrichum species, on field bindweed.

Technical Abstract: Field bindweed (Convolvulus arvensis L., family Convolvulaceae), is one of the most problematic weeds in the world and a target of biological control efforts. In the summer of 2006, dying field bindweed plants were found around Bafra, Samsun, Turkey. A fungal isolate, 06-01, was isolated from diseased leaves, and Koch’s postulates were fulfilled at the phytopathology laboratory of Ondokuz Mayis University, Samsun, Turkey. Diseased tissue and axenic cultures of the fungus were sent to the quarantine facility of the Foreign Disease-Weed Science Research Unit, USDA/ARS, Fort Detrick, MD. The fungus conformed to the description of Colletotrichum linicola Pethybr. & Laff. Nucleotide sequences were obtained for the internal transcribed spacer regions ITS1 and ITS2 and the 5.8S ribosomal RNA gene and compared to other sequences in GenBank using BLAST. There was a 100% match of sequences from our isolate with sequences from one isolate of C. linicola and a 99% match with sequences from another isolate of C. linicola. This isolate of Colletotrichum linicola is a destructive pathogen on field bindweed and severe disease can be produced by inoculation of foliage with an aqueous suspension of conidia. To our knowledge, this is the first report of C. linicola, or any other Colletotrichum sp., on field bindweed.