Marginal scorch caused by <i>Alternaria alternata</i> on Purple-Caitai (<i>Brassia campestris</i> L. ssp. chinensis L.var. <i>utilis</i> Tsen et Lee) in China

Abstract

A new disease was detected in Purple-Caitai (Brassia campestris L. ssp. chinensis L.var. utilis Tsen et Lee) on the high mountain in Hubei, China. On the basis of morphological and cultural features, the pathogen was identified as Alternaria alternata. The internal transcribed spacer (ITS)-rDNA sequence of a representative Alternaria isolate from Purple-Caitai showed 99% identity with other ITS sequences of different Alternaria alternata isolates available in GenBank, thus confirming the morpho-cultural identification. Koch′s postulates were fulfilled by pathogenicity tests on potted Purple-Caitai seedlings. To our knowledge, this report is the first of marginal scorch on Purple-Caitai caused by Alternaria alternata.

Keywords: Purple-Caitai, marginal scorch, Alternaria alternata

African Journal of Biotechnology Vol. 12(6), pp. 544-546