Ninety-eight isolates of Rhizoctonia spp. were obtained from barley and wheat grown in Erzurum, Turkey. Of these, 78% were Rhizoctonia solani (AG-2 type 1, AG-3, AG-4, AG-5 and AG-11), 10% were binucleate Rhizoctonia (AG-I and AG-K) and the remainder were Waitea circinata var circinata (Rhizoctonia sp.). Among the binucleate Rhizoctonia, AG-I was not recovered from barley. In pathogenicity tests on barley and wheat, the highest disease severity was caused by isolates of AG-4 and AG-11, whereas isolates of AG-2 type 1, AG-3, AG-5 and W. c. var circinata were moderately virulent. Isolates of binucleate Rhizoctonia were all nonpathogenic. This is the first report of R. solani AG-11 and W. c. var circinata from Turkey.

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The small poplar longhorn beetle, Saperda populnea is an important pest of Lombardy poplars (Populus nigra L.) in Turkey. A survey for natural entomopathogenic fungi of S. populnea larvae was made in Erzurum, Turkey, during the period 2004-2005. Larvae (13.5%) infected with a strain of the fungus Beauveria bassiana were found. The pathogenicity of B. bassiana strain 46 was conducted with different concentrations of conidia (10(6), 10(7) and 10(8) conidia/ml) of this isolate on S. populnea larvae. The lowest concentration (10(6) conidia/ml) caused about 56% mortality within 6 days. One hundred percent mortality was achieved after median lethal time (LT(50)) of 4.6 and 4.4 days for 10(7) and 10(8) conidia/ml, respectively. There were no significant differences between median lethal times. This is the first record of natural infection of S. populnea larvae by B. bassiana.