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First report of Melampsoridium hiratsukanum on common alder in Hungary

I. Szabó*

University of West-Hungary, Institute of Forest and Wood Protection, P.O. Box 132. H-9401 Sopron, Hungary

*szaboi@emk.nyme.hu

Accepted for publication 25/06/02

A leaf rust epidemic was observed on Alnus glutinosa at some nurseries in the south-western part of Hungary in October 2001. This rust disease of alder has been unknown in the country before.

Two Melampsoridium species were described on alders, M. alni (Thuemen) Dietel and M. hiratsukanum Ito (Gäumann, 1959). M. alni is very similar morphologically to the leaf rust of birch, M. betulinum (Pers.) Kleb. (Roll-Hansen, 1981). In contrast, M. hiratsukanum, found in Estonia in 1996 and in Finland in 1997 (Kurkela et al., 1998), is morphologically distinguishable from the two. The alder rust samples collected in Hungary were evaluated and compared directly with specimens of M. betulinum on birch. The urediniospores of the alder pathogen collected in Hungary were uniformly echinulate (Fig. 1.), 21-33 x 9-15 µm (26.24 x 11.46 µm on average), the thickness of the episporium, 1.2-1.5 µm, and the length of the ostiolar cells of the uredinia, 42 - 53 µm (Fig. 2); corresponding to the morphological descriptions of M. hiratsukanum, referred to in the literature above. The urediniospores of birch rust were smooth at their upper, rounded end, 25-34 x 10-15 µm (28.58 x 12.42 µm on average), the thickness of the episporium, 1.5-2 µm, and the ostiolar cells, 23 - 30 µm long; typical of M. betulinum.


Figure 1. Melampsoridium hiratsukanum urediniospores


Figure 2. Melampsoridium hiratsukanum ostiolar cells of uredinium

From these comparisons, we conclude that the leaf rust disease observed for the first time on common alder in Hungary was caused by Melampsoridium hiratsukanum.

References

Gäumann E, 1959. Die Rostpilze Mitteleuropas mit besonderer Berücksichtigung der Schweiz. Beiträge zur Kryptogamenflora der Schweiz 12.

Roll-Hansen F, Roll-Hansen H, 1981, Melampsoridium on Alnus in Europe. M. alni conspecific with M. betulinum. European Journal of Forest Pathology 11, 77-87.

Kurkela T, Hanso M, Hantula J, 1998. Melampsoridium sp. on alder leaves. In: Jalkanen R, Crane PE, Walla JA, Aolto T, eds. Proceedings of the First IUFRO Rusts of Forest Trees Working Party Conference, 1998. Saariselka, Finland, 131-134.

The British Society for Plant Pathology