FUNGI ASSEMBLAGES OF THE PHYLLOSPHERE OF EASTERN PURPLE CONEFLOWER (Echinacea purpurea (L.) Moench.) DEPENDING ON THE RATE OF NITROGEN

The fungi of phyllosphere may affect the plants health status and the yield obtained from the crop. Species composition of mycobiota infesting the plant's phyllosphere is not only dependent on the atmospheric factors, but also on the nitrogen fertilization. The field experiment was set up in Psary near Wroclaw, in the years 2007-2009. The aim of the study was to determine the species composition of the phyllospheric fungi of the purple coneflower depending on the nitrogen rate: 50 kg N.ha(-1) and 200 kg N.ha(-1). The fungi species most abundantly isolated from the coneflower phyllosphere were Cladosporium herbarum, Alternaria alternata and Cladosporium cladosporioides. The abundance of the isolated fungi taxa was significantly lower in 2008, compared to the other two years. The atmospheric conditions in 2007 encouraged development of Fusarium spp. During the three-year experiment Gibberella intricans predominated in the coneflower phyllosphere. The lower level of nitrogen (50 kg N.ha(-1)) favoured the increased incidence of Cladosporium spp., Gibberella intricans, F. sporotrichioides, F. oxysporum, F. culmorum, Gibberella avenacea and Gibberella zeae.