CHARACTERIZATION OF DIAPORTHE HONGKONGENSIS SPECIES CAUSING STEM-END ROT ON KIWIFRUIT IN TURKEY

Abstract

Kiwifruit cultivation is quite recent in Turkey, nevertheless several diseases are becoming dangerous as they reduce fruit production. Among these, stem-end rot is increasingly present in commercial orchards. In autumn 2014, symptoms of stem-end rot of fruit of Actinidia deliciosa cv. Hayward were observed in three orchards in the Eastern Black Sea region. Morphological, molecular, and pathological analyses confirmed that isolates obtained from diseased kiwifruit were the agents of stem-end rot and belonged to the Diaporthe lithocarpus/D. hongkon-gensis species group. Molecular proximity to the Asian isolates may suggest that the pathogen was introduced in Turkey from East Asia. To our knowledge this is the first report of D. hongkongensis on A. deliciosa in Turkey or elsewhere.