First report of Calosphaeria pulchella causing canker and branch dieback of sour cherry trees (Prunus cerasus) in North Macedonia

Symptoms of Calosphaeria canker were observed on sour cherry trees in the Stip region of North Macedonia. Fungal isolates were obtained from the infected twigs and branches showing external symptoms of twig dieback, occasionally followed by amber-coloured gummy exudates and brown to black vascular streaking in tissue cross-sections. The fungus was identified as Calosphaeria pulchella (Pers.: Fr.) J. Schröt (syn. Calosphaeriophora pulchella Réblová, L. Mostert, W. Gams & Crous), based on its morphology, and this identification was confirmed by sequence comparison in the GenBank database using the internal transcribed spacer region (RBK02_ITS1-ITS4) of the rDNA. The sequences had 100% identity and 100% query coverage with C. pulchella reference isolate SJC-6+ITS Internal transcribed spacer 1. Pathogenicity tests conducted on sour cherry and apricot trees showed that the obtained isolates were pathogenic to sour cherry, but not to apricot. This is the first report of Calosphaeria pulchella on sour cherry trees in North Macedonia, and in the Balkan region. This study increases understanding of the status of C. pulchella as a pathogen in this region.