PYRENOPHORA JAPONICA OCCURRING ON BARLEY IN SOUTH-AFRICA

A Pyrenophora teleomorph was recently found on barley stubble in South Africa. Single-ascospore isolates, mated on water agar containing sterile pieces of barley stubble, produced the teleomorph within 12 months of incubation at 15 degrees C in the dark. Based on morphological characteristics and symptom expression on barley plants, the teleomorph is ascribed to P. japonica (anamorph Drechslera tuberosa). This is the first report describing the occurrence of the teleomorph of D. tuberosae in South Africa.