First report of alternaria leaf spot of almond caused by species in the Alternaria alternata complex in California.

A new leaf spot disease of almond (Prunus dulcis [Mill.] D. Webb) was observed in California in the late 1980s and was first associated with severe defoliation in the mid-1990s (1). Orchards in areas with frequent summer dews, high humidity, and little air movement sustained severe defoliation, resulting in yield losses often exceeding 50%. Symptoms occur only on leaf blades in late spring and summer. Lesions develop as small, circular, tan spots 1 to 3 mm in diameter that may enlarge to 5 to 20 mm in size. Semicircular lesions frequently develop along the leaf margins and tips. The centers of mature lesions become black with fungal sporulation. The fungi isolated from the margins of sporulating and non-sporulating lesions were identified as three species in the Alternaria alternata complex: A. alternata, A. arborescens, and A. tenuissima (2,3). Cultures grown in the dark on potato dextrose (PDA) or potato-carrot agar are grayish white to olivacious green in the former two species and dark gray and wooly ...