<i>Fusarium</i> spp. Associated With Leaf Blight of Hosta ( <i>Hosta plantaginea</i> L.) in China

ABSTRACT Hosta ( Hosta plantaginea L.) is a perennial herbaceous plant belonging to the family Liliaceae. It is widely cultivated for its decorative foliage and dainty, colourful flowers. Fusarium is a globally prevalent plant pathogen. During 2020–2021, 116 Fusarium isolates were isolated from 300 hosta leaf blight samples collected from eight cities in China, and 65 representative isolates we selected for further study. The 65 isolates were identified based on the concatenated sequences of the tef1 and rpb2 genes, which grouped them into 12 Fusarium species, including F. acuminatum (27.59%), F. verticillioides (15.52%), F. oxysporum (10.34%), F. armeniacum (10.34%), F. ipomoeae (8.62%), F. proliferatum (6.9%), F. subglutinans (6.9%), F. humuli (3.45%), F. petersiae (3.45%), F. brachygibbosum (3.45%), F. graminearum (1.72%), and F. compactum (1.72%). Pathogenicity tests demonstrated that all Fusarium isolates exhibited high pathogenicity towards hosta leaves. Whereas in F. proliferatum isolates were found to be the most pathogenic. All Fusarium species obtained in this study are first reported as the causal agents of hosta leaf blight in China except F. oxysporum and F. ipomoeae . The current research offers insights into disease management, phylogenetic relationships amongst Fusarium species and the diversity of Fusarium species associated with hosta leaf blight.