Leaf blight of Laburnum anagyroides, a new disease in Japan, caused by Pleiochaeta setosa

A leaf blight on golden chain trees (Laburnum anagyroides Medik.) was found in Tochigi, Japan, in 2019. First, small brown to reddish brown spots appeared and gradually increased in size and number. Most of the diseased leaves then fell off. The fungus isolated from diseased leaves was identified as Pleiochaeta setosa based on morphological and molecular analyses. The same symptoms developed after inoculation of the leaves, and the fungus was reisolated from the symptomatic leaves. We propose the name leaf blight (“hagare-byou” in Japanese) of golden chain tree for this new disease caused by Pleiochaeta setosa.