First report of Hymenoscyphus fraxineus in Serbia
In Serbia, symptoms of ash dieback were observed for the first time in September 2015 during a survey carried out on approximately 1000 ash trees (Fraxinus angustifolia and F. excelsior) growing in natural forests at 3 sites (Debelo Brdo, Molovin, and Tara). At each of the localities, 3 to 8 stands (or groups of trees) were surveyed for the presence of ash dieback symptoms. Symptomatic samples were collected from 45 trees (F. angustifolia and F. excelsior) and tested in the laboratory (morphological and molecular methods). Results confirmed the presence of Hymenoscyphus fraxineus (formerly EPPO Alert List). In the 3 surveyed sites, dead annual shoots were the most frequently observed symptoms, while small necrotic lesions in the bark were encountered only occasionally. Symptoms of decline were observed only on young, 1-3 m high trees, in the understory. As the disease incidence observed at the 3 localities was low, it is thought that H. fraxineus has been discovered in an early phase of the epidemic.
The situation of Hymenoscyphus fraxineus in Serbia can be described as follows: Present, only in some areas, first found in 2015 in 3 sites (Debelo Brdo, Molovin, and Tara).
Sources
Keča N, Kirisits T, Menkis A (2017) First report of the invasive ash dieback pathogen Hymenoscyphus fraxineus on Fraxinus excelsior and F. angustifolia in Serbia. Baltic Forestry 23(1), 56–59. https://www.balticforestry.mi.lt/bf/PDF_Articles/2017-23