EPPO Global Database

EPPO Reporting Service no. 02 - 2021 Num. article: 2021/042

Erysiphe corylacearum, an emerging pathogen of hazelnut in the EPPO region


Native to East Asia, Erysiphe corylacearum is a new powdery mildew of hazelnuts (Corylus spp.) which was first observed in Turkey in 2013 and has since rapidly extended its distribution range in the Middle East, the Caucasus as well as in Eastern and Central Europe. The species is believed to originate in Asia (China, Japan, Korean Peninsula, Russian Far East) and has been reported as an invasive pathogen in hazelnut orchards (Corylus avellana) in Turkey, Iran and Georgia where it causes serious damage to nut production. Symptoms are observed on the upper leaf surface, on shoots and on fruit clusters including husks. The disease was more recently reported from Southern Russia, the Ukraine, Switzerland, Italy and Austria. In the EPPO region it was observed in orchards for nut production, as well as on trees growing in mixed deciduous forests, hedges as well as in city gardens and parks.

E. corylacearum may already be present in other European countries between Ukraine and Italy and seems to be spreading westwards. Recent phylogenic and taxonomic studies showed that the isolates from North America on Corylus cornuta, which were previously assigned to E. corylacearum constitute a species of its own, named Erysiphe cornutae, sp. nov. 

A distribution map is available in the EPPO Global Database: https://gd.eppo.int/taxon/ERYSCY/distribution


Sources

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