Winterberry holly (Ilex verticillata) is an economically valuable landscaping ornamental plant. Serious outbreaks have been reported, in its leaf tips curl upward, irregular black brown spots appear on leaves, and extensive defoliation is commonly observed. The incidence in Hangzhou was estimated at 50% and resulted in large economic losses for growers in 2018. Samples were collected from the main cultivation area in Zhejiang Province. In total, 11 fungal isolates were obtained from diseased leaves through a single-spore purification method, and isolate LVY 9 exhibited strong pathogenicity. Based on morphology and molecular phylogenetic analyses based on multilocus sequence typing of the glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH), internal transcribed spacer (ITS) regions, actin (ACT), calmodulin (CAL), and chitin synthase (CHS-1) genes, we identified the pathogen as Colletotrichum siamense, causative agent of anthracnose of winterberry holly.
Keywords: Colletotrichum siamense; anthracnose; multilocus phylogeny; pathogenicity; winterberry holly.