Occurrence of Botrytis cinerea Causing Gray Mold on Pecan in China

Pecan (Carya illinoinensis), a globally economically significant dried fruit and woody oil tree, faces significant challenges in production and nut quality due to the rampant outbreak of severe fungal diseases. From 2020 to 2021, an extensive occurrence of a disease resembling gray mold was observed on the leaves and fruits of pecan trees in Jiangsu Province, China. Upon isolation from symptomatic samples, Botrytis cinerea was identified through morphological analysis and phylogenetic studies of the G3PDH, HSP60, and RPB2 gene sequences. Furthermore, pathogenicity tests conclusively attributed the gray mold disease observed on pecan leaves and fruits to B. cinerea. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time that B. cinerea has been reported on pecans. These findings thus provide a basis for further research on the management of pecan gray mold.