First report of Aspergillus ochraceopetaliformis causing leaf spot disease in betel vine (Piper betle) from Odisha, India
1Plant Stress Biology Laboratory, P.G. Department of Biosciences and Biotechnology, Fakir Mohan University, Vyasa Vihar, Balasore-756089, Odisha, India. 2Centre of Excellence (CoE) for Bioresource Management and Energy Conservation Material Development, Fakir Mohan University, Vyasa Vihar Balasore-756089, Odisha, India. 3Betel vine Research Center, Islampur, Bihar Agricultural University, Sabour Bhagalpur-813210, Bihar, India. Corresponding e-mail: punam.lifescience@gmail.com
DOI: https://doi.org/10.37855/jah.2026.v28i02.50
Betel vine (Piper betle) is an economically and medicinally important cash crop widely cultivated across coastal regions of Odisha, India. However, its productivity is often constrained by leaf spot disease, which causes massive losses in betel vine production. This study aims to identify the pathogen causing the disease in betel vine leaves collected from the Balasore district of Odisha, India. The pathogen was isolated and characterized based on its morphological and molecular traits. Molecular identification using the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) and RNA polymerase II beta subunit (RPB2) gene sequences revealed that the isolate shared high sequence similarity with Aspergillus ochraceopetaliformis through BLASTn (GenBank accession numbers: ITS-PQ238875; RPB2-PQ415739). To our knowledge, this is the first report of A. Ochraceopetaliformis associated with leaf spot disease in betel vine.
