First Report of Colletotrichum gigasporum Causing Anthracnose on Dalbergia odorifera in China

Dalbergia odorifera belongs to the Papilionaceae family that is endemic and listed as the second class protected plant in China. D. odorifera has extremely high economic value and ecological benefit. In April 2017, lesions were observed on D. odorifera saplings in a forested area of Hainan Province, China. Approximately 50% of D. odorifera plants were infected. The center of the lesions was greyish-white with black spots and dark-brown borders. Lesions were semicircular or half-oval, occasionally surrounded by a yellowish green halo. Leaf spots generally occurred along the edge of the leaf. When the leaves were severely infected, they withered and eventually died. Leaf tissue specimens were collected from the border between symptomatic and healthy tissue, surface sterilized by dipping in 75% ethanol solution for 60–90 S, rinsed twice with sterile distilled water, plated on potato dextrose agar (PDA), and incubated at 28°C in darkness. Hyphal growth was recovered and pure cultures were obtained by subcultu...