First report of <em>Curvularia dactylocteniicola</em> causing leaf spots on <em>Zea mays</em> and <em>Sorghum</em> in Sri Lanka

Abstract

The genus Curvularia includes pathogens, endophytes and saprobes associated with a diverse range of plants belonging to the family Poaceae. These species are responsible for diseases on cereal crops such as rice, maize, wheat, millet, sorghum and poaceous weedy hosts. During a field survey of cereal pathogens conducted in Galle, Hambanthota, and Matale districts of Sri Lanka, diseased leaf samples were collected randomly from Zea mays and an indigenous cereal landrace of Sorghum sp. traditionally known as ‘Swayanjatha’. Morphology and molecular phylogeny based on combined nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacers 1 and 2 with 5.8S region (ITS), glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) and translation elongation factor 1-α (TEF1) revealed that the causative agent of the leaf spots is Curvularia dactylocteniicola. Results of the pathogenicity tests confirmed cause of the disease on Zea mays and Sorghum sp. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first record of C. dactylocteniicola causing leaf spots on Zea mays and Sorghum sp. in Sri Lanka.