Ghaderi F, Mohammadi H (2023) Occurrence of jujube brown spot disease in Iran. Plant Pathology Science 12(2):95-104.
Jujube tree has a natural distribution in tropical and sub-tropical regions of Asia. Symptoms of brown-to-black spots on leaves, and fruits, and twigs blight were observed in the hills of the suburbs of Nurabad County, Fars Province, Iran, in 2022. This research was conducted to identify the cause of this disease based on morphological and genetic characteristics. The diseased leaves and branches of the neighboring trees in this area were sampled. The pathogen was isolated and purified after surface disinfection of disease tissues on potato/dextrose/agar medium. Its morphological characteristics were studied and the fungus Nothophoma quercina was identified. Phylogenetic analysis base on the comparison of beta-tubulin (tub2), and ITS-rDNA genes sequences, with related fungi in NCBI Gen Bank, confirmed the of N. quercina species. Its pathogenicity was proved on the side cut jujube branches based on Koch's postulates in vitro. This is the first report of brown spot and twigs blight of the jujube trees caused by N. quercina in Iran.
