First report of leaf blight of garlic ( Allium sativum) caused by Stemphylium solani in China.

The article focuses on the blight on the leaves of garlic observed in Dangyang County in Hubei Province, China from autumn 2004 to spring 2007. The plant disease initially manifested small and white lesions which eventually progressed to apical necrosis that lasted until the leaves withered. Using potato sugar agar (PSA), isolations were made. Pieces of autoclaved filter paper were placed on the agar to induce sporulation. The fungus was identified as Stemphylium solani based on Elli. Sequences in GenBank were compared based on the genomic data extracted from three isolates which showed 99% similarity with S. solani. Pathogenicity tests indicate that the leaf blights were caused by S. botryosum, S. vesicarium (Boiteux et al, 1994) or Cladosporuim echinulatum (Pal and Basuchaudry, 1976).