Gnomoniopsis castaneae associated with Dryocosmus kuriphilus galls in chestnut stands in Sardinia (Italy)

Abstract

Invasive fungal pathogens and pests of sweet chestnut (Castanea sativa Mill.) forests drastically reduce their productivity. The recently described Gnomoniopsis castaneae is one of the main agents involved in the epidemic of brown rot of chestnut nuts worldwide. In 2014, during an investigation aimed at evaluating the health status of chestnut forests in Sardinia, a high incidence of necrotic galls induced by the Asian gall wasp Dryocosmus kuriphilus Yasumatsu (Hymenoptera, Cynipidae) was observed. Several fungal isolates were consistently isolated from necrotic gall tissues. Based on their morphological characters and analyses of both the ITS and EF1-α-coding gene sequences, all isolates were identified as Gnomoniopsis castaneae.

Keywords

• Galls Necrosis
• Brown Nut Rot
• Invasive Pests
• Forest Pathogens