Isolation, identification and occurrence of Plectosphaerella cucumerina (Lindf.) W. Gams, 1968 on sugar beets cultivation areas in Türkiye

As a result of the research conducted on the detection of severe root rot and drying in sugar beet (Beta vulgaris L.) fields in the Konya region of Türkiye in 2015-2017, a fungus named Plectosphaerella cucumerina was detected together with many different root pathogens. This fungus, which is known to occur in many hosts and on different substrates, is a new record for Türkiye. There are not many studies on this fungus, which was found to be low virulent in our study, neither in the world nor in our country. However, according to the limited number of studies, it has been found that there are pathogen strains of the pathogen that infect sugar beet in the Netherlands. Furthermore, it is a necrotrophic fungus that is used as a potential biological control agent against potato cyst nematodes, so it is considered a fungus that should be studied for this reason. We define this contribution as a new record for Türkiye mycobiota from P. cucumerina sugar beet seedlings