Phytophthora Crown and Root Rot of Apricot Caused by P hytophthora palmivora in T urkey

Forty‐nine P hytophthora isolates were obtained from roots and crown of apricot trees with symptoms of decline grown in commercial orchards in M alatya, E lazığ and D iyarbakır provinces, T urkey, in 2011 and 2013. All of the recovered isolates were identified as P hytophthora palmivora on the basis of morphological characteristics. Blast analysis of ITS region sequences of r DNA of 5 isolates revealed 100% identity with a reference isolates of P . palmivora from GenBank. Isolates of P . palmivora were pathogenic on 12‐month‐old wild apricot rootstock ‘Zerdali’ plants that were wound inoculated on the roots and on the crown. This study demonstrated that P . palmivora is the cause of the crown and root rot found on apricot in T urkey. To our knowledge, this is the first report of P . palmivora on this host plant.