First report of powdery mildew caused byErysiphe plataniinAilanthus altissima, the tree-of-heaven, in the Mediterranean basin, Italy

摘要

In August 2018, a tree-of-heaven (Ailanthus altissima) showing symptoms of powdery mildew was found in Pisa, Italy. Morphological characteristics of the anamorph and molecular sequence analysis of the internal transcribed spacer region of rDNA verified the fungus asErysiphe platani.In a pathogenicity test, powdery mildew patches were present on leaf surfaces 2 weeks after inoculation with the isolate. This is the first report ofE. platanicausing powdery mildew on ailanthus in the Mediterranean basin. The fungus, whose historical host range was confined to the genusPlatanus,has expanded its host range toAilanthusin Italy.