Determination of the presence of Diplodia sapinea in pine seeds supplied from forest plants in Turkey

Diplodia sapinea causes serious damage to conifers and significantly reduces seed production and germination if cones are infected with the pathogen. In this thesis, it was aimed to determine the presence of D. sapinea in Pinus brutia, Pinus nigra and Pinus pinea seeds obtained from Antalya, Balıkesir, Denizli, Eskişehir and Isparta forest nurseries. Fungal colonies other than D. sapinea grew from seeds on selective nutrient medium and were also identified morphologically. As a result of the research, it was determined that the isolates obtained were Diplodia sapinea from Crimean pine and stone pine seeds. D. sapinea was obtained at a rate of 4% in stone pine seeds from Balıkesir nursery, 1% in red pine seeds and 1% in stone pine seeds from Antalya nursery. The most commonly isolated other fungi from seeds were Sydowia polyspora, Alternaria alternata and Aspergillus niger, respectively. Fusarium spp., which is known to be harmful in seeds. Fusarium oxysporum and Rhizoctonia solani from the fungus species isolated from seeds. Other types of fungi isolated from seeds; Trichoderma harzianum, Aureobasidium pullulans, Trimmatostroma salicis, Rhizoctonia solani, Chaetomium globosum, Stephylium spp.