First reports of Trichoderma spp. as crop pathogens in China
Different Trichoderma species were recently reported as causing crop diseases in maize (Zea mays) and morel (Morchella sextelata) in China.
Maize ear rot with prominent bluish-green fungal symptoms have been observed across major maize-production regions in China, including Liaoning, Hainan, Beijing, and Henan provinces, from 2022 to 2025. A survey was conducted and T. asperellum, T. harzianum and Penicillium spp. were isolated from maize cobs and stalks. Pathogenicity tests showed that Trichoderma asperellum can cause maize ear rot.
During field surveys conducted in 2023–2024 at commercial morel farms in Chengde city (Hebei province) and Meihekou city (Jilin province), fruiting bodies of morel (Morchella sextelata) were observed to be heavily colonized by dense white hyphae, exhibiting characteristic symptoms of white mould. In severe cases, infected tissues showed progressive withering and collapse. The disease was highly transmissible and difficult to manage once established. The pathogens were identified as Trichoderma afroharzianum (EPPO Alert list) and T. tomentosum.
Sources
Liu K, Huang X, Liang R, Wang Y, Bai M, Wang L, Sossah FL, Zhang C (2026) White mold of Morchella sextelata caused by Trichoderma afroharzianum and T. tomentosum in China. Plant Biosystems 160(2), 55.
Wang W, Xiao S, Que F, Le L, Su A, Zhou Z, Zhu X, Zhang Y, Shi L, Zhong T, Zhang H (2026) Maize knows friends or foes? the dark side of Trichoderma asperellum as a maize ear rot pathogenic fungus. Plant biotechnology journal (early view). https://doi.org/10.1111/pbi.70489