Occurrence of Root Rot Caused by Phytophthora cryptogea on Common Sage (Salvia officinalis) in Turkey

: Common sage or Dalmatian sage ( Salvia officinalis L.) is a perennial plant (subshrub), native to the Mediterranean region. This research was conducted to identify the fungi species which cause a sudden damping-off disease in some common sage plantation, in the coastal experimental areas of Antalya and Izmir provinces of Turkey. The infected plant materials were collected from Mediterranean and Eagean regions which showed root and crown rots typical of Phytophthora sp. symptoms. Ten plants having those symptoms were used for identification of the causal agent by Phytophthora selective medium. A new Phytophthora species was isolated and identified as P. cryptogea as a result of morphological and molecular characteristics of DNA base sequences of internal transcribed spacer (ITS) regions. Pathogenicity of P. cryptogea was proved on rooted cuttings of common sage. This is the first report of P. cryptogea on common sage in Turkey.