Neoascochyta zhejiangensis Y. Wang, Y. Tu, X. Chen, H. Jiang, H. Ren, Q. Lu, C. Wei & W. Lv sp. nov.

Fig. 10

Etymology.

Named after the location where it was collected, Zhejiang Province.

Description.

Sexual morph: undetermined. Asexual morph: Pycnidia smooth, subglobose to ellipsoidal, hyaline. Conidia biconical to subcylindrical, hyaline, smooth- and thin-walled, abundant, generated from pycnidia, aseptate, 4.8–6.5 × 2.9–4.2 µm (av. = 5.6 ± 0.5 × 3.6 ± 0.3 µm, n = 30). Mycelia lateral branching or uniaxial branching, septate, hyaline.

Culture characteristics.

Colonies on PDA reaching 65–69 mm diam. after 7 days at 28 ° C in the dark, margin regular, aerial mycelium flat, whitish; reverse black, white edges. Pycnidia and conidia produced on the colony surface after being cultured for 14 days at 28 ° C in the dark. Colonies on OA reaching 53–57 mm diam. after 7 days at 28 ° C in the dark, margin regular, aerial mycelium flat, whitish; reverse olivaceous, white edges.

Materials examined.

China, Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou City, from diseased leaves of C. sinensis cv. Longjing 43, Jun 2014, Y. C. Wang, Holotype HMAS 352392, culture ex-type CGMCC 3.24250 = YCW 1107 . Yunnan Province, from diseased leaves of C. sinensis, 23 Mar 2020, Y. C. Wang, culture CGMCC 3. YCW 1361 .

Notes.

Neoascochyta zhejiangensis is closely related to N. cylindrispora with high statistical support (82 % / 77, ML / PP, Fig. 4). Neoascochyta Cylindrispora differs in 1 bp in ITS, 16 bp in TUB 2 and 95 bp in LSU from N. zhejiangensis . In the present study, two strains were isolated from healthy tea plant leaves.