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In this study, Clonostachys rosea strain ST1140, a naturally occurring endophyte in healthy roots of a pistachio tree, was identified morphologically and molecularly through DNA sequencing, and its endophytic ability and growth effect in/on three solanaceous plant species were tested. Three different organic substrates (bread wheat-grain, sawdust, and leonardite) were also investigated for their utility in cultivating and multiplying the strain. In-tray and pot experiments, the rates of seed germination and vegetative development of pepper, tomato, and eggplant inoculated with C. rosea at planting were compared to those of non-inoculated controls. In pot experiments, inoculating seedbeds with increasing doses of C. rosea strain ST1140 with wheat-grain substrate resulted in higher plant height values for all plant species, and the strain endophytically colonized the roots of all plant species. In-tray experiments revealed that ST1140 inoculation resulted in 2-4 days earlier and 10% higher germination rates for all plant species, as well as more vigorous and accelerated seedling growth (10-13 days earlier for seedlings at the 4-5 true leaf stage) on all inoculated plant species. Among three different organic substrates, wheat-grain was found to be the most effective for long-term cultivation and multiplication of the fungus, which could be of interest for its development as a commercial product. These results promised the strain ST1140's use as a biofertilizer in seedbeds with a wheat-grain substrate.

Considering the damage caused by fungicides to human health and problems such as microbial resistance, biological control against plant pathogens has started to gain importance worldwide. This research demonstrates a new, simple, cost-effective, and environmentally friendly method for synthesizing chitosan bionanocomposite (CBNC) from Morchella esculenta (L) Pers-extract (MEE). The antifungal property of the synthesized Morchella esculenta (L) Pers-chitosan bionanocomposite (MCBNC) against some plant pathogens was also evaluated. FTIR, XRD, FE-SEM, DSC, TGA, and BET were used to characterize the synthesized MCBNC. Mushroom-based chitosan nanoparticles were evaluated for antifungal activity against some fungal pathogens, including Neoscytalidium novaehollandiae, N. dimidiatum, Alternaria alternata, Verticillium dahliae, Bipolaris sorokiniana, and Colletotrichum sp. The findings obtained clearly showed that chitosan nanoparticles have antifungal activity. The results suggest that the chitosan nanoparticle can be used in the field to protect various crops from phytopathogens. Novelty impact statement Chitosan bionanocomposite (MCBNC) synthesis was performed for the first time using the wild mushroom Morchella esculenta, which has strong bioactive properties. It was observed that the bionanomaterial, which was characterized by FTIR, XRD, FE-SEM, DSC, TGA, and BET analyses, has high antifungal activity against plant pathogens such as Alternaria alternata and Bipolaris sorokiniana. MCBNCs synthesized by the green synthesis method can be an important area of use in the fight against plant pathogens, which corresponds to 1/3 of the world's agricultural production potential.

In 2020, a canker disease with dieback of branches and decline of various fig trees in Şanlıurfa and Mardin provinces of Turkey was observed. The causal pathogen was identified as Neoscytalidium dimidiatum based on morphological characteristics and phylogenetic analysis of ITS, tef1, and tub2 loci. Koch’s postulates were confirmed by successful re-isolation of N. dimidiatum only from plants inoculated with the pathogen. This is the first report of N. dimidiatum associated with dieback and canker of common fig in Turkey.

In this study, a total of 78 Talaromyces isolates were isolated from the pistachio (Pistacia vera L.) rhizosphere heavily infested with Neoscytalidium spp. The identification studies of the four representative isolates based on morphological and molecular methods showed that all isolates were T. funiculosus. The 575 bp long sequence of the internal transcribed spacer region of T. funiculosus isolate ST976, selected as a representative of the isolates, was deposited in GenBank under accession no. MW130842. The Maximum Likelihood tree clustered the ST976 isolate with reference T. funiculosus isolates derived from the GenBank nucleotide database. The phosphorus dissolution ability of ST976 isolate was determined by an experiment using six soil samples collected from agricultural lands in various locations of Şanlıurfa province. The pH of the soil samples taken varied between 7.21 and 7.88. As a result of the analysis performed with the addition of the isolate ST976 applied to soil samples with different soil structures (Clay and Clay-Loam), it was determined that the isolate ST976 dissolved 109–311% more phosphorus than the control sample. The study is one of the first studies proving the ability of T. funiculosus isolate ST976 to dissolve phosphorus without any additives to soil solution was determined., Bu çalışmada Neoscytalidium spp. ile yoğun bir şekilde bulaşık antepfıstığı (Pistacia vera L.) rizosferinden toplam 78 Talaromyces izolatı izole edilmiştir. Dört temsilci izolatın morfolojik ve moleküler yöntemlere dayanarak tanımlama çalışmaları, tüm izolatların T. funiculosus olduğunu göstermiştir. İzolatları temsilen seçilen T. funiculosus ST976 izolatının internal transcribed spacer bölgesinin 575 bç büyüklüğündeki sekansı, GenBank tarafından sağlanan MW130842 erişim numarası ile kaydedilmiştir. Maximum Likelihood dendogramı, ST976 izolatını, GenBank nükleotid veri tabanında bulunan referans T. funiculosus izolatları ile birlikte kümelemiştir. ST976 izolatının fosfor çözünme kabiliyeti, Şanlıurfa ilinin farklı lokasyonlarında bulunan tarım arazilerinden alınan altı toprak numunesi ile yapılan deney ile belirlenmiştir. Alınan toprak örneklerinin pH'sı 7.21 ile 7.88 arasında değişmektedir. Farklı toprak yapılarına (Killi ve Killli-Tın) sahip toprak örneklerine uygulanan ST976 izolatının ilave edilmesi ile yapılan analiz sonucunda ST976 izolatının kontrol numunesine göre % 109-311 daha fazla fosfor çözündüğü tespit edilmiştir. Çalışma, T. funiculosus izolatı ST976'nın fosforu toprak çözeltisine herhangi bir katkı maddesi olmadan çözebildiğini kanıtlayan ilk çalışmalardan biridir.

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Forty-four V. dahliae isolates were collected from symptomatic vascular tissues of okra plants each from a different field in eight provinces located in the eastern Mediterranean and western Anatolia regions of Turkey during 20062009. Nitrate-nonutilizing (nit) mutants of V. dahliae from okra were used to determine heterokaryosis and genetic relatedness among isolates. All isolates from okra plants were grouped into two vegetative compatibility groups (VCGs) (1 and 2) and three subgroups as 1A (13.6%, 6/44), 2A (20.5%, 9/44) and 2B (65.9%, 29/44) according to international criteria. Pathogenicity tests were performed on a susceptible local okra (A. esculentus) landrace in greenhouse conditions. All isolates from VCG1A and VCG2B induced defoliation (D) and partial defoliation (PD) symptoms, respectively. Other isolates from VCG2A gave rise to typical leaf chlorosis symptoms without defoliation. The obtained data showed that the virulence level of V. dahliae isolates from okra was related to their VCG belongings. Eighteen okra landraces from diverse geographical origins were screened for resistance to VCG2B and VCG1A of V. dahliae. The results indicated that all landraces were more susceptible to highly virulent VCG1A-D pathotype displaying D or PD symptoms depending on their susceptibility levels with a mean disease severity index of 3.52 than to less virulent VCG2B-PD pathotype of V dahliae displaying PD and ND symptoms with a mean disease severity index of 2.52. Significant differences were observed among the landraces; however, none of them exhibited a level of resistance. Okra landraces; corum, Hatay Has and Sanhurfa displayed the lowest level of susceptibility or little tolerance to both D and PD pathotypes. VCG2B of PD was prevailing in the surveyed areas and VCG1A of D was the most virulent of the VCGs identified. Introduction of resistant genotypes to Turkish okra germplasm from different sources and breeding new resistant okra cultivars are critical for the sustainability of okra production.

WOS: 000463126100004, A novel disease of tomato (Solarium lycopersicum L.) was observed in the Southeast Anatolia Region of Turkey. Symptoms were blight of all aerial parts of the plant, including stems, branches, leaves, petioles, flowers and fruits, defoliation, root rot, inner stem necrosis, and plant death. The disease was found in 13.9% of surveyed fields, with an incidence varying from 3% to nearly 75% (average 21.2%) of the plants in symptomatic fields. The average severity of blight on stem in fields with the symptomatic plant surveyed was 1.4%. A Botryosphaeriaceae species, identified as Neoscytalidium dimidiatum (Penz.) Crous & Slippers using morphological and cultural features, was consistently isolated from symptomatic roots, inner stems, and blighted leaves, shoots, stems, fruits and flowers. The partial nucleotide sequence data for three gene loci, including nuclear rDNA internal transcribed spacer (ITS), large subunit (LSU) genes and the translation elongation factor 1-alpha (TEF-1 alpha), confirmed the morphological identification. Furthermore, sequence data of actin genes from N. dimidiatwn was, for the first time, deposited to the GenBank. Koch's postulates were fulfilled by testing the susceptibility of different tomato tissues (leaves, stems, inner stems and roots of tomato seedlings, and detached tomato fruits and flowers) to N. dimidiatum inoculation. To our knowledge, this is the first report of N. dimidiatum on tomato.

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Developing alternative control methods such as using beneficial microorganisms and their metabolites to control the plant diseases has gained so much importance along recent years and research on this area are increasing day by day. In this study the possibilities of using microorganisms which have antimicrobial effects on controlling soil-borne fungi at strawberry production were investigated. Effects of different lactic acid bacteria (LAB) strains were studied in vitro and in vivo against the development of several soil-borne fungi. LAB were screened for antifungal activity by using cell free supernatant against Fusarium sp., Rhizoctonia sp., Macrophomina sp., Botrytis sp., Phtopythium sp., Cylindrocarpon sp. and Pestalotiopsis sp. Cell free supernatant of LAB isolates showed antifungal activity against fungi. In vitro effective strains of LAB were used in pot experiments to search their effects on fungal development and the development of the plant. While the antifungal effects of all LAB strains tested in vitro experiments exhibited promising results, in vivo experiments revealed similar effects on different fungi genera.

The genetic diversity and pathogenicity/virulence among 60 eggplant Sclerotinia sclerotiorum isolates collected from six different geographic regions of Turkey were analysed using mycelial compatibility groupings (MCGs), random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) and simple sequence repeat (SSR) polymorphism. By MCG tests, the isolates were classified into 22 groups. Out of 22 MCGs, 36% were represented each by a single isolate. The isolates showed great variability for virulence regardless of MCG and geographic origin. Based on the results of RAPD and SSR analyses, 60 S. sclerotiorum isolates representing 22 MCGs were grouped in 2 and 3 distinct clusters, respectively. Analyses using RAPD and SSR markers illustrated that cluster groupings or genetic distance of S. sclerotiorum populations from eggplant were not distinctly relative to the MCG, geographical origin and virulence diversity. The patterns obtained revealed a high heterogeneity of genetic composition and suggested the occurrence of clonal and sexual reproduction of S. sclerotiorum on eggplant in the areas surveyed.

WOS: 000364944700015, Crown and root rot or decline is an increasing problem on sweet cherry in Mardin, Malatya, Elaz and Diyarbakr provinces in eastern Turkey. A survey was carried out during 2012-2014 in 120 commercial cherry orchards for disease symptoms, which included poor growth with sparse off-colour foliage, reddish-brown discolouration of the crown and roots, wilting and dieback of the canopy, and in many cases, tree death. Fifty-eight Phytophthora isolates obtained during the course of this 3-year survey were examined and identified as Phytophthora palmivora on the basis of morphological characteristics. BLAST analysis of ITS region sequences of rDNA of five isolates revealed 99-100% identity with reference isolates of P. palmivora from GenBank and Phytophthora database. Isolates of P. palmivora were pathogenic on 12-month-old potted Mahaleb' cherry (Prunus mahaleb L.) rootstock seedlings that were wound-inoculated on the roots and on the crown. Inoculated plants expressed similar symptoms to those observed in the field and almost all infected plants died within 3 months after transplanting. This study demonstrated that P. palmivora is the causal agent of cherry decline in eastern Turkey. To our knowledge, this is the first report of P. palmivora on this host plant. ResumeLa pourriture du collet et des racines, ou deperissement, constitue un probleme croissant chez le cerisier sauvage dans les provinces de Mardin, de Malatya, d'Elaz et de Diyarbakr de l'est de la Turquie. Une etude a ete menee de 2012 a 2014 dans 120 vergers commerciaux afin de deceler les symptomes de la maladie qui incluent la croissance mediocre accompagnee d'un feuillage clairseme de couleur atypique, la coloration brun-rougeatre du collet et des racines, le fletrissement et le deperissement de la cime et, dans plusieurs cas, la mort de l'arbre. Durant les trois annees qu'a dure cette etude, 58 isolats de Phytophthora ont ete examines et identifies, sur la base de leurs caracteres morphologiques, en tant que Phytophthora palmivora. L'analyse de type BLAST des sequences de l'espaceur transcrit interne de l'ADNr de cinq isolats a revele un taux d'identite de 99% a 100% par rapport aux isolats de reference de P. palmivora provenant de la GenBank et de la Phytophthora database. Les isolats de P. palmivora etaient virulents a l'egard de jeunes plants en pots de 12 mois sur porte-greffe de cerisier Mahaleb' (Prunus mahaleb L.) dont des blessures aux collets et aux racines avaient ete inoculees. Les plants inocules ont affiche des symptomes semblables a ceux observes sur le terrain, et presque tous les plants sont morts en moins de trois mois apres avoir ete transplantes. Cette etude a demontre que P. palmivora est l'agent causal du deperissement des cerisiers dans l'est de la Turquie. Pour autant que nous le sachions, il s'agit de la premiere mention de P. palmivora s'attaquant a cette plante hote., Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock of Republic of Turkey [TAGEM-BS-11/04-01/02-10], This study is a part of the project supported by Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock of Republic of Turkey (Project Number: TAGEM-BS-11/04-01/02-10).

15 pages: 2 figures; 3 tables, A comprehensive survey on the prevalence and incidence of Verticillium wilt of olive in Turkey has been conducted over 6 years (2003–2008). Vegetative compatibility group (VCG) assessment and PCR-based molecular pathotyping were used to evaluate the distribution of the defoliating (D) and nondefoliating (ND) pathotypes of Verticillium dahliae in surveyed areas. Pathogen prevalence was 35% of all olive orchards inspected and incidence of the disease reached 3.1%. VCG1A was predominant (29.3%) and infected all major cultivars grown in Turkey. The other two VCGs detected (2A and 4B) were of minor relevance (4.9% and 0.9%, respectively). Disease incidence caused by VCG1A infections was higher (ranging from 1.1% to 6.9%) than that caused by VCG2A and VCG4B in 10 provinces (Manisa, Aydin, Kahramanmaras, Izmir, Mugla, Kilis, Denizli, Gaziantep, Mardin and Balikesir). However, VCG2A and 4B were more prevalent (and responsible for higher disease incidence) than VCG1A in three provinces (Hatay, Osmaniye and Bursa). Finally, VCG1A isolates were found in all provinces except Canakkale, and simultaneous presence of the three VCGs was only verified in Hatay province. An artificial inoculation bioassay (19 representative V. dahliae isolates included) revealed that VCG1A (13) isolates as a group were more aggressive and caused defoliation, whereas VCG2A (5) and VCG4B (1) isolates induced milder symptoms. Within a VCG group, virulence varied among isolates infecting the same olive cultivar and this virulence was also related to the differential susceptibility of the cultivars (‘Manzanilla’, ‘Ayvalik’ and ‘Gemlik’) tested. Molecular pathotyping allowed the identification of D (VCG1A) and ND (VCG2A/4B) pathotypes, which correlated with results from pathogenicity tests. Remarkably, the V. dahliae VCG1A/D pathotype population infecting olive in Turkey was molecularly different from that one previously identified in Spain., The Scientific and Technical Research Council of Turkey

Verticillium dahliae Kleb. with a complicated genetic diversity is a widely distributed major pathogen resulting in cotton wilt, which causes high economic losses in cotton lint production in the cotton belt of Turkey. A collection of 70 Turkish V. dahliae isolates (68 from wilted cotton plants in 28 districts and two from watermelon plants in two districts) were tested for vegetative compatibility by observing heterokaryon formation among complementary nitrate-nonutilizing (nit) mutants. The mutants were tested against international reference tester isolates and also were paired with one another. Thirty-nine isolates were assigned to vegetative compatibility group (VCG) 2B, 19 to VCG2A and three to VCG4B. One isolate was self-incompatible and eight others could not be assigned to any of the identified VCGs because their nit mutants showed negative reactions with the tester isolates of four VCGs or their nit mutants reverted back to the wild type. This is the first report of VCGs in V. dahliae from cotton in Turkey. This research was supported by The Scientific and Technical Research Council of Turkey (TUBITAK). We thank Dr. Nadia Korolev, ARO, The Volcani Center, Bet Dagan, Israel, for providing the international reference isolates of the V. dahliae VCGs and for her critical reading of the manuscript.