Digital sight ds ri2 high

The ascomata and conidiomata formed on the branches and/or twigs of Salix were photographed using the Leica stereomicroscope (M205) (Leica Microsystems, Wetzlar, Germany). Over 30 conidiomata (and/or ascomata) and 50 conidia and/or ascospores were selected randomly to measure their lengths and widths using a Nikon Eclipse 80i microscope (Nikon Corporation, Tokyo, Japan) equipped with a Nikon digital sight DS-Ri2 high-definition color camera with differential interference contrast (DIC). Cultural characteristics of strains plated onto PDA and incubated at 25 °C in darkness were recorded after seven and thirty days according to the color charts of Rayner [34 ].

Morphological observations were conducted based on conidiomata produced on infected plant tissues. The conidiomata were manually sectioned using a double-edged blade and examined under a dissecting microscope for macroscopic and microscopic characterization, while conidiomata structure and size were imaged with a Leica stereomicroscope (M205) (Leica Microsystems, Wetzlar, Germany). Conidia and other microstructures were selected randomly for observation using a Nikon Eclipse 80i microscope (Nikon Corporation, Tokyo, Japan) equipped with a Nikon digital sight DSRi2 high-definition colour camera with differential interference contrast (DIC). Fifty conidia were measured per species, and 30 measurements were taken of other morphological structures. Colony characters i.e. colours and texture on PDA and MEA (malt extract agar; 30 g malt extract, 5 g mycological peptone, 15 g agar per L) at 25 °C were observed and noted over 14 days. The colony colours were determined based on the colour charts of Rayner (1970) .