Sooty mould caused by Capnodium alfenasii on Azadirachta indicaKey-words

In October 2020, sooty moulds were found covering the leaves of neem trees (Azadirachta indica) in Vitoria da Conquista, Bahia, Brazil. Sooty moulds usually grow on honeydew secreted by insects. However, in this observation, insects were not visible on the sooty mould-infected plants. Rather, the sooty mould grew on the host secretions. Inoculation was performed to confirm the ability of the fungus to grow on host nectaries. Based on the morphological features and phylogenetic analysis, Capnodium alfenasii was identified as the sooty mould agent. To our knowledge, this is the first report on the occurrence of this fungus on neem plants.