The species composition of the endophytic mycobiota in bark, leaves and twigs of Laurus nobilis were studied in Western Anatolia. Four sampling sites were selected; one of which was sampled twice, in spring and autumn. About 3892 fungal isolates obtained grouped into 85 morphological types. The 11 dominant species, with isolation frequencies >1.5%, were Alternaria alternata, Botryosphaeria sarmentorum, Colletotrichum dematium, C. gloeosporioides, Hendersonula sp., Paraconiothyrium sp., Phoma sp., three species of Phomopsis and Seimatosporium lichenicola. Numbers of fungal species isolated per tree differed between the sampled sites. Isolation frequencies of the dominant species, and other less frequent species, were dependent on the sampling site. The degree of endophytic infection and the diversity of fungal species were significantly higher in spring. Frequencies of all dominant species depended significantly on season, except for Stemphylium sp. and S. lichenicola. Analysis of the total endophytic mycoflora of the sampled trees suggested that geographical factors affects the endophytic distribution patterns more significantly than seasonal factors.

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A collection of 30 strains of Verticillium dahliae, recovered during 2004-2006 from 12 cultivars of chrysanthemum (Chrysanthemum morifolium) in five districts of İzmir province in Turkey, was assigned to vegetative compatibility groups (VCGs) based on pairings of complementary nitrate-nonutilizing (nit) mutants induced on a chlorate-containing medium. Of these strains, nine were assigned to VCG1, seven to VCG2A, 11 toVCG2B and one to VCG4B. The remaining two strains could not be tested for vegetative compatibility because of their inability to yield nit mutants. Pathogenicity tests conducted by the root-dip method, demonstrated that wilt of chrysanthemum in Turkey is caused by V. dahliae, and most strains in VCG1 were significantly more aggressive to chrysanthemum than those in VCGs 2 and 4B. This is the first known study in the world of the VCGs of V. dahliae isolates from chrysanthemum.

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Chrysanthemum white rust is a destructive disease of many chrysanthemum ( Dendranthema × grandiflorum ) and related species (Dickens, 1990). The infection is caused by Puccinia horiana and the fungus is an EPPO A2 quarantine pest.Chrysanthemum cut flowers are only grown in Izmir province of Turkey. In 2006, the area under chrysanthemum production was about 5 ha. The major areas where it is grown commercially are Seferihisar, Narlıdere, Torbalı and Urla counties. During February and March, 2007, a devastating outbreak of white rust disease severely damaged the chrysanthemum crop in 12 different glasshouses, resulting in yield losses of 80%. Disease symptoms were observed on various parts of the plant, particularly in the leaves. The symptoms began as pale green to yellow spots up to 5 mm in diameter on the upper surface of affected leaves. Eventually the spots turned brown and became necrotic. Spore-forming pustules were observed on the lower surface of the leaves and were buff to pink colour. As these pustules matured, they became white in colour. Microscopic examination of the pustules revealed the presence of teliospores on pedicels up to 52 μ m long; pale-yellow, oblong to oblong-clavate, slightly constricted, 30-52 × 11-18 μ m, with thin walls, 1-2 μ m thick, and thicker at the apex, 4-9 μ m. These morphological characteristics confirmed the fungus as P . horiana , as described by Kapooria & Zadoks (1973).Pathogenicity tests were conducted on 3-month-old chrysanthemum plants, by spraying unwounded leaves with a suspension of basidiospores (approximately 5 × 10 4 mL -1 ). Control plants were sprayed with sterile water. Inoculated and control plants were enclosed in transparent plastic bags and incubated at 20 ± 1 ° C for 4 days with a 16-h photoperiod. The bag was then removed and 10 days later leaf lesions developed on inoculated plants. No disease symptoms were observed on control plants. This is the first record and outbreak of white rust disease caused by P. horiana on chrysanthemum cultivars grown in Turkey. References

Tithonia diversifolia is a perennial garden plant commonly known as Mexican sunflower, belonging to the Asteraceae. Crude extracts of T. diversifolia leaves have intrinsic antimalarial properties (Ajaiyeoba et al ., 2005).Diseased plants of T. diversifolia were collected from Barapani, Meghalaya (1010 m above m.s.l.), were found to be heavily infected by powdery mildew during June and July 2007. Almost 70% of the plants surveyed in Barapani were infected. Disease symptoms included greyish white irregular patches consisting of epiphytic mycelia and conidia on both surfaces of the leaves. Symptoms were also present on stem, ray and disc florets. Infected leaves later became necrotic. A specimen has been deposited in Herbarium Cryptogamiae India Orientalis (HCIO), New Delhi, India (HCIO No. 47968).Hyphae were between 5-7 μ m wide with nipple shaped appressoria. Conidiophores were mostly erect containing a foot cell (37-64 × 7-11 μ m) followed by two or three shorter cells (8-12 × 8-10 μ m); conidia were cylindrical (26 -34 × 14 -18 μ m) and produced in chains. The basal septum of the conidiophore was just adjacent to mycelium. Fibrosin bodies were absent. Shoulder germination of conidia was also observed. These morphological characters suggest this is the anamorph of Golovinomyces cichoracearum (Braun, 1987). No perfect stage (chasmothecium) was found. Pathogenicity was confirmed by dusting conidia on healthy potted plants of T. diversifolia , non-inoculated plants serving as control. Inoculated plants developed symptoms after a week whereas control plants remained healthy. Necrosis developed 18 days post-inoculation.The only occurrence of powdery mildew on T. diversifolia was reported in Zambia (Hirata, 1986), but this is the first record of powdery mildew of T. diversifolia in India. This disease is also of regulatory significance since it has not been reported from adjoining countries like Sri Lanka where this crop is grown for the purpose of green manuring.

Twenty-nine cotton genotypes with varying levels of susceptibility to Verticillium dahliae were grown in infested plots at Nazilli, Aydın, in 2008Aydın, in -2009. The highest level of disease incidence was recorded in cultivars 'BA-151', 'Celia', 'Çukurova-1518', 'Flaş' and 'Maraş 92', and averaged 85-95% for all genotypes in both years. The incidence of V. dahliae in seed averaged 29.8% for cv. Çukurova-1518, 27.6% for Flaş, 24.6% for cv. BA-151, 19.0% for cv. Celia and 16.2% for Maraş 92. Two hundred seeds from each genotype were planted, two seeds per pot, in a steam-pasteurized mixture of soil, peat, and sand. Pots were placed close to each other on a greenhouse bench to obtain a thick canopy. Typical disease symptoms appeared about 12-13 weeks after sowing. Maximum disease incidence values averaged 3.3% for Celia, 4.5% for Maraş 92, 8% for BA-151, 9% for Flaş and 9.5% for Çukurova-1518.