Detection of the race of Exserohilum turcicum [(Pass.) KJ Leonard & Suggs] causing northern leaf blight diseases of corn in Turkey

Abstract

Northern Leaf Blight caused by Exserohilum turcicum is the most significant disease in corn growing fields. The most important strategy for controlling Northern Leaf Blight is to use resistant varieties derived from qualitative and quantitative traits of corn grown around the world. Northern Leaf Blight threats to corn production because of the presence of E. turcicum races and new races potential. Therefore, in order to obtain and use resistant lines at the regional level, it is necessary to determine pathogen races. For this reason, the objective of this study was to identify races of 50 E. turcicum isolates collected by the survey carried out on 7 important corn producing areas, Sakarya, Samsun, Ordu, Adana, Mardin, Osmaniye, and Mersin provinces, belonging to the Marmara, Black Sea, Mediterranean and Southeastern Anatolia regions of Turkey. In result, 8 different races of northern leaf blight, namely 0, 1, 2, 123, N, 1 N, 3 N, 12 N were found in Turkey. The most common races were identified as race 0 and race 1. In addition, molecular identification studies confirmed the validity of morphologically identified E. turcicum isolates.