Decline of Paulownia tomentosa caused by Trametes hirsuta in Serbia

Abstract

During the monitoring of the health status of nurseries and plantations in Serbia, a decline in a 5-year-old Paulownia tomentosa plantation was recorded. Trees displayed symptoms of dieback, massive breaking at different positions, the appearance of decay and fungal fruitbodies at the stems. Using standard isolation methods, white colonies with cottony surfaces and regular growth were obtained from the decaying wood samples, and after the oxidation degree analysis, it was determined that these isolates belonged to Davidson's group 6, indicating white rot basidiomycetes. To identify the isolated fungus, the ITS region of one selected isolate was sequenced. Based on the morphological analysis of the obtained colonies, collected fruitbodies and ITS sequence analysis, this fungus was identified as Trametes hirsuta. This is the first report of T.hirsuta on Paulownia tomentosa in Serbia. Irregularly performed pruning as the possible infection route and the implications of these findings are discussed.