IDENTIFICATION OF IMPORTANT SPECIES OF THE GENUS ARMILLARIA IN HORTICULTURAL AND FOREST REGIONS OF IRAN BY CLASSIC MATING-TESTS

Abstract

Forty isolates were obtained from different plant-hosts in fruit orchards and forest regions of Iran. In order to identify species of Armillaria diploid and haploid cultures were paired with two or three known haploid tester isolates from each intersterile group. Sexual compatibility was evaluated, based on the differences in morphology of haploid colonies from white and with fluffy to brownish, without aerial mycelium (crustose). In this study 19 plant species were introduced as hosts for Armillaria species. Twenty nine isolates of Armillaria mellea (72.5%) were obtained from following plant hosts: Armeniaca vulgaris, Juglans regia, Amygdalus communis, Pyrus communis, Malus domestica, Populus nigra, Platanus orientalis, Citrus aurantium, Abies alba, Carpinus betulus and Parrotia persica. Quercus castaneifolia, Diospyros lotus and Fagus orientalis were identified as the hosts of Armillaria galica. Armillaria spp. isolates from Picea abies, Crataegus pentagyna, Acer sp., Alnus subcordata and Carpinus betulus were not compatible with any of tester strains, representing different species. Gleditsia caspia was the new host of Armillaria sp. from Iran.