First report of Fusarium commune causing Torreya grandis crown and root rot in China

Torreya grandis cv. Merrillii is an important economic tree widely cultivated in hilly subtropical areas in China and some parts of Japan and Korea. Crown and root rot was found on T. grandis in Zhejiang Province of China. Three isolates with similar morphology were isolated from diseased samples, and used for identification and pathogenicity tests. The pathogenicity of the isolates was confirmed by fulfilling Koch's postulates. The pathogen was identified as Fusarium commune based on morphological characteristics and phylogenetic tree constructed by combining ITS and TEF-1 alpha gene sequences. This is the first report of F. commune causing crown and root rot on T. grandis in China.