Determination of alternative hosts and molecular characterization of isolates of Cercospora beticola, the causal agent of leaf spot in sugar beet in Samsun province

One of the most important disease problems in sugar beet is Cercospora beticola Sacc, leaf spot disease. This disease, known as Cercospora leaf spot disease in sugar beet, is one of the most destructive diseases and causes high yield and quality losses. In the world, 1/3 of the sugar beet cultivated areas are affected by this disease. In our study, samples were taken from leaves showing symptoms of Cercospora leaf spot disease from cultivated plants (red beet, animal beet, chard, spinach, etc.) which are related hosts of sugar beet grown in Samsun province and its districts and villages. After placing the diseased leaf pieces in a moist cell, a piece of the developing colonies was taken and cultivated in PDA medium and the isolation of the pathogen was carried out. The main objective of this study was to determine the role of other hosts in the spread of Cercospora beticola by identifying related hosts of sugar beet. Pathogenicity trials will be carried out with isolates of the agent obtained from both sugar beet and other plants to determine its reaction in sugar beet and other hosts. Molecular identification of the isolates will also be carried out to determine whether there are different Cercospora species and the intraspecific polymorphism of C. beticola isolates obtained from different plants will be revealed.