Symptoms of occurrence and morphological characteristics of the most common Phytophthora species on maple trees in Serbia

Abstract

This paper presents the results of the studies of the main morphological and colony growth patterns of species from the Phytophthora genus, isolated on maple trees in Serbia. On maple trees in different forest stands, parks and private gardens, different types of symptoms that could be indicative for the infections with pathogens from the Phytophthora genus, were recorded. Symptoms included yellowing of leaves, crown transparency, wilting of shoots, branches and diebacks of the crowns, and appearance of necrosis at the stems with dark exudates. These symptoms very often could be mixed with the symptoms caused by other affecting factors. After the isolation tests, several different groups of isolates were obtained that were distinguishable based on their colony shape and morphological characteristics, and after the detailed identification presence of four species from the Phytophthora genus was confirmed, including P. cactorum, P. plurivora, P. gonapodyides and P. lacustris.