First detection of Neoscytalidium dimidiatum associated with canker disease in Egyptian Ficus trees

Summary In September 2013, a canker disease of Ficus nitida and F. benjamina was reported for the first time in Assiut governorate, Egypt. Infected samples were collected from various locations. Pure cultures of a fungus were isolated on potato dextrose agar at 25°C from diseased plants. Morphological investigation and DNA sequencing showed that the causal agent was Neoscytalidium dimidiatum. A pathogenicity test conducted using 2‐year‐old plants of each host gave 70%–80% infection, and the pathogen was reisolated from the inoculated plants. A pure culture of N. dimidiatum was deposited in the culture collection of the Assiut University Mycological Centre (AUMC) under the code AUMC 9293 and the ITS sequence was placed in NCBI under accession number KX985929 .