Identification of Fungal Species Associated with Dieback and Canker Disease of Elm Trees in Tabriz Metropolis

Elm is one of the most important ornamental trees and is used extensively in design of urban green space. Dieback and canker disease of elm has been widespread in Tabriz green space and other cities in province in recent years. In order to identify the factors involved in dieback and canker of elm trees in Tabriz city, symptomatic and healthy samples were taken and 208 fungal isolates from 64 plant samples were purified. Identification of species was carried out using morphological and sequence data of the ITS or TEF regions for some species. In this study, 16 species of fungi including, Ophiostoma novo-ulmi, Fusarium solani, F. proliferatum, F. tricinctum, Pestalotiopsis brassicae, Cytospora rhodophila, C. chrysosperma, Didymella glomerata, Chaetomium globosum, Ch. rectanguare, Clonostachys rosea, Seimatosporium lichenicola, Coniolariella macrothecia, Pleurostomophora ochracea, Sordaria sp. and Geosmithia sp were isolated from sapwood and wood parts of trunk and main branches with vascular discoloration and healthy trees. Among the identified isolates, Fusarium and Chaetomium were the most abundant taxa. Chaetomium globosum, Ch. rectangulare, F. proliferatum, S. lichenicola, P. brassicae, Co. macrothecia, Pl. ochracea, C. rhodophila, Geosmithia sp., Cl. rosea and D. glomerata are new reports on elm host worldwide.