Early dead ripe of bread wheat and durum wheat caused by Ophiosphaerella korrae and evaluation of the fungal influence on barley, rice, and soybean

A ripening disorder with early blighting of foliage including spike bleaching was observed on bread wheat in May 2017 and durum wheat in May 2018 in experimental fields in Hiroshima Prefecture in western Japan. Ophiosphaerella korrae isolated from diseased plants was demonstrated to be the cause of the disease. We named the new disease on the two crops early dead ripe. The fungal isolates were also revealed to be virulent on rice and to cause barley root rot but was avirulent on soybean.