A survey of subtropical nursery plants for fungal diseases in Northland

Abstract

During 2003 and 2004 fortyfive randomly selected wholesale and retail plant nurseries were surveyed for plant diseases The plant families Agavaceae Annonaceae Arecaceae Bromeliaceae Cycadaceae and Musaceae were targeted Plants were examined in situ for disease symptoms as well as samples being collected for laboratory analyses Fungi were identified using morphological characteristics and where necessary with molecular techniques The survey resulted in a range of fungi being identified from the target plants These fungi ranged from saprophytes to plant pathogens some of which may have undesirable effects on New Zealands biodiversity or economy Many new host/pathogen records were observed and several fungi were detected for the first time in New Zealand This paper presents and discusses the results of these findings