First report of Clonostachys byssicola causing seedling wilt in Litsea deccanensis

Litsea deccanensis is a commercially important tree, distributed in South India and Sri Lanka. The seedlings raised in the nursery were found infected and wilted. The disease incidence rate was recorded nearly 40%. The fungus was isolated from the disease sample and grown on PDA. The same fungus was re-isolated and identified from diseased stems after the pathogenicity test, which showed the pathogenic behaviour of the isolated fungus, thus fulfilling Koch's postulates. Based on cultural and morphological characteristics followed by molecular analyses (ITS and TEF1), the pathogen was identified as Clonostachys byssicola (Bionectriaceae). This communication is the first report of C. byssicola causing seedling wilt in L. deccanensis from the Southern Western Ghats, Kerala, India.