First Report of Fusarium subglutinans f. sp. pini on Pine Seedlings in South Africa. A. VILJOEN, Department of Microbiology and Biochemistry, University of the Orange Free State, P.O. Box 339, Bloemfontein, 9300, South Africa. M. J. WINGFIELD, Department of Microbiology and Biochemistry, University of the Orange Free State, P.O. Box 339, Bloemfontein, 9300, South Africa, and W. F. O. MARASAS, Programme on Mycotoxins and Experimental Carcinogenesis, Medical Research Council, P.O. Box 19070, Tygerberg, 7505, South Africa. Plant Dis. 78:309-312. Accepted for publication 22 September 1993. Copyright 1994 The American Phytopathological Society. DOI: 10.1094/PD-78-0309.

A study of fungi responsible for root rot of Pinus patula seedlings in a forest nursery yielded Fusarium subglutinans f. sp. pini and F. oxysporum. F. s. pini was isolated most frequently from diseased seedlings and proved to be the most virulent fungus in pathogenicity tests conducted on germinated seed and 2-mo-old seedlings. Inoculation of 3-yr-old trees with F. s. pini yielded symptoms reminiscent of pitch canker. This is the first report of F. s. pini causing root disease of pine seedlings and is also the first record of the fungus in the Southern Hemisphere.