Occurrence of powdery mildew caused by Cystotheca kusanoi on Oak trees in China

Abstract

Oak) is an economically important genus of the Fagaceae, including 400-600 species of evergreen and deciduous trees. Quercus spp. are widely distributed in temperate, subtropical montane regions and semiarid floras of Asia, Europe and North America (Liu et al., 2018). Selected oak species such as pedunculate oak (Quercus robur) are considered keystone species in forest ecosystems and are major drivers of terrestrial biodiversity (Demeter et al., 2021). Powdery mildew caused by Cystotheca spp. was shown to have serious ecological effects on a range of Quercus spp. (Braun