First report of Cladosporium cladosporioides, C. oxysporum, and C. uredinicola as potential pathogens on tomato shoots system in Iraq.

Several leaves and shoot spot symptoms were observed on tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill) plants at Zubair and Safwan farms in Basrah, Iraq. The symptomatic plant parts were collected from different varieties of tomato. The fungal pathogens were first isolated on PDA medium followed by a diagnosis procedure of the relevant fungi conducting phenotypic characterization and microscopic featuring. A molecular identification was applied by polymerase chain reaction technology using internal transcribed spacer sequences. All along an investigation on Cladosporium species, three species including C. cladosporioides, C. oxysporum, and C. uredinicola were identified and recorded as new potential pathogen for the first time in Iraq causing leaf spot and lesion of tomato plant. Pathogenicity examination of each isolated pathogens was performed against of tomato plant. The importance of the current research is to investigate and identify the fungal pathogens of tomato plants to find the best protocols to restrict their growth and damage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]