First report of Diplodia africana on Grevillea robusta

摘要

Branch cankers and dieback were observed on silky-oak trees (Grevillea robusta) along some streets of Palermo (Sicily, Italy). Fungi isolated from symptomatic branches were identified as Diplodia africana and D. seriata by morphological characters and phylogenetic analyses of combined ITS and translation elongation factor 1-alpha sequences. Pathogenicity was verified by inoculating twigs of 3-y-old silky-oak plants. This is the first report of D. africana on G. robusta and the first record of D. seriata on this host in the northern hemisphere.