The Identity of Eggplant Powdery Mildews Collected in Korea

Sung-Eun  Cho1   In-Young  Cho2   Hyeon-Dong  Shin1,*   

1Division of Environmental Science and Ecological Engineering, Korea University
2Division of Climate Change Response, Jeollabuk-do Agricultural Research and Extension Services

Abstract

Three species of powdery mildew (Erysiphales) on eggplant (Solanum melongena L.) have been listed in Korea, namely Erysiphe cichoracearum (now genus Golovinomyces), Leveillula taurica, and Sphaerotheca fusca (now genus Podosphaera; syn. Podosphaera xanthii). Since E. cichoracearum was recorded on eggplant for the first time in Korea in 1969, it has been regarded as a major powdery mildew agent on that plant. In 1998, the causal agent of powdery mildew on eggplant was recorded as L. taurica, then as S. fusca in 2002. During our extensive field surveys in Korea, we collected 22 samples of eggplant powdery mildews. Our microscopic observations and molecular sequence analyses showed that all of our samples belonged to the genus Podosphaera, in the absence of either E. cichoracearum or L. taurica, suggesting that P. xanthii is the dominant agent of powdery mildew disease on eggplants in Korea. As there have been no additional findings on L. taurica after the first report on the species, it seems to be a minor species that is rarely found in greenhouses. The presence of E. cichoracearum (syn. Golovinomyces cichoracearum s. lat.) on eggplants is questionable, as the morphological characteristics of E. cichoracearum in the original description of the Korean collection deviate from the morphological variations of this species. In addition, no herbarium material of E. cichoracearum remains. Consequently, it seems that P. xanthii is the main species of powdery mildew on eggplants, whereas L. taurica occurs rarely on eggplants, in Korea. This review provides the historical and recent taxonomy of eggplant powdery mildews in detail.

Acknowledgements

We wish to express our appreciation to Prof. B. S. Kim (Gangneung-Wonju National University), Dr. G. S. Choi, Dr. K. S. Han, and Dr. M. J. Park (National Institute of Horticultural and Herbal Science), Dr. J. K. Choi (Gangwon-do Agricultural Research and Extension Services), and Dr. J. H. Kwon (Gyeongsangnam-do Agricultural Research and Extension Services) for providing eggplant powdery mildew samples. This work was supported by a grant from Korea University to HDS. This study was also carried out with the support of the “Cooperative Research Program for Agricultural Science & Technology Development (Project No. PJ0124192016)” Rural Development Administration, Republic of Korea.

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