First report of the wattle rust pathogen, Uromycladium acaciae (Raveneliaceae, Pucciniales) in Ethiopia

Abstract

Australian Acacia species are among the most important trees planted for wood and pulp production in several African countries, including Ethiopia. In 2020, symptoms of a serious shoot and leaf rust disease were observed on black wattle (Acacia mearnsii De Wild.) trees across the three main wattle growing regions of Ethiopia. The aim of this study was to describe the disease and identify its causal agent based on morphological characteristics as well as DNA sequence data for the ITS and LSU regions of ribosomal DNA. Here we report for the first time, the presence of the wattle rust pathogen, Uromycladium acaciae, in Ethiopia.