Ceratocystisand related genera causing wilt of Cunninghamia lanceolataYunnan, China

Species of Ceratocystis and allied genera are pathogens of many trees, including Cunninghamia lanceolata. During a survey of 2020, we found a serious wilt disease of C. lanceolata in Yunnan Province, China. Three different fungi resembling Ceratocystis and allied genera were consistently isolated from discoloured foliage and stems on C. lanceolata. Morphological and DNA sequence comparisons based on 60S and LSU gene regions showed that the pathogens were Ceratocystis and related species. We included 4 isolates identified as C. acaciivora = C. manginecans, 10 isolates identified as Berkeleyomyces basicola equivalent to Thielaviopsis basicola, and 1 isolate identified as Chalaropsis sp., from 3 geographical locations. Pathogenicity tests on potted plants showed that all three species were pathogenic. To our knowledge, this is the first report Ceratocystis acaciivora, B. basicola and Chalaropsis sp. causing C. lanceolata wilt in China.