SPECIES COMPOSITION OF MICROMYCETES ON POTATO, CARROT AND SUGAR BEET IN THE CENTRAL AND CENTRAL BLACK EARTH REGIONS OF RUSSIA

This study presents the species diversity of fungi causing diseases in potatoes, carrots, and sugar beets across several regions of the Central and Central Black Earth areas of the country. Plant parts exhibiting symptoms of fungal infection served as material for mycological analysis. A total of 29 fungal genera were identified, including micromycetes classified as facultative saprotrophs and facultative parasites with broad host specialization in the crops examined. Fungi of the genera Alternaria, Cercospora, Botrytis, Fusarium, Verticillium, and Rhizoctonia caused root and tuber rot, leaf and stem spots, and plant wilt. Thus, the pathogenic complex in these crops comprised a wide range of micromycete genera and species with broad trophic specialization, with the same facultative saprotroph species detected across all examined samples. The frequency of fungal occurrence depended on crop specificity, regional conditions, and varietal disease resistance.