Bipolaris sorokiniana (teleomorph Cochliobolus sativus) - causer of barley leaf lesions and root rot in Macedonia [the Former Yugoslav Republic of]

Diseased barley plants (Hordeum vulgare), were noticed in the area of Kumanovo, Bitola, Probistip, Skopje and Kocani, at the beginning of March, 2006. The investigations were carried out during the period from 2006 to 2009. The plants were highly diseased, probably in the stage of germination, dwarfed with necrotic leaves and with poorly developed root. A rotten root collar was noticed in some plants, which could be easily pulled out from the soil. Plants infected in a later developing stage became yellow from the top of the leaf, and many brown-olive, oval shape lesions were noticed. Conidia of Bipolaris sorokiniana (Sacc.) Shoen., were isolated from symptomatic lesions. Pseudothecia with asci and ascospores from teleomorph Cochliobolus sativus, were found on the barley straw in the same field the previous year.