Fusarium acuminatum: A new pathogen causing yellows and wilt on Dragon’s head Lallemantia iberica in Iran

Dragon’s head Lallemantia iberica, currently is grown as an oilseed crop in dry areas of Iran. In 2019, symptoms including seedling damping-off, yellows, and wilt were observed on the plants in a commercial field in Maragheh province, Iran. Based on the morphological and molecular characters, the fungus isolated from symptomatic plants was identified as Fusarium acuminatum. The pathogenicity of the fungus was confirmed through inoculation of the host plant. Subsequently, Koch’s postulates were fulfilled by re-isolation of the same fungus from the inoculated symptomatic plants. This is the first report of Fusarium wilt disease occurring in Dragon’s head in Iran and worldwide.