Abstract:
Chinese fir(
Cunninghamia lanceolata) is an important fast-growing timber species widely cultivated in China, possessing significant ecological and economic value. Shoot blight is a fungal disease that affects the young shoots of seedlings, causing shoot dieback and severely hindering the growth of Chinese fir saplings. During surveys conducted at Nanping City, Fujian Province, China, typical shoot blight samples were collected, and potential pathogenic strains were obtained through tissue isolation and single-spore purification. Identification was performed using Koch’s postulates, morphological characterization, and multi-gene phylogenetic analysis. The study confirmed that four newly obtained pathogenic strains belong to a novel species of
Alternaria, named
Alternaria nanpingensis. The novel species produces longer conidial chains, typically composed of 7~15 conidia, which are significantly more numerous than those of its related species:
A. dongshanqiaoensis(5~9 conidia),
A. cinerariae(2~9 conidia),
A. citri(3~6 conidia), and
A. xinyangensis(2~7 conidia). These findings expand the known diversity of pathogens causing shoot blight in Chinese fir and provide a theoretical foundation for future taxonomic research and disease control.