Pleochaeta indica, a new record of powdery mildew from Pakistan

Abstract

A comprehensive study of a powdery mildew observed on leaves of Celtis tetrandra Roxb. was carried out by the authors. The symptoms appeared as white mycelium on leaves with embedded small black to brown spherical ascomata. Infected plants were collected from Thandiani (District Abbottabad, Division Hazara) of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Pakistan, during a phytopathogenic survey in 2019. The causal agent was observed and identified on the basis of morphological and molecular analyses, which reveals that this fungus belongs to genus Pleochaeta. Further investigation identified it as Pleochaeta indica. This is the first report of a powdery mildew infection caused by this pathogen in Pakistan. A complete description and illustrations of the fungus are presented.