First records of the causal agent of sooty bark disease of maples Cryptostroma corticale (Ellis & Everh.) P.H. Greg. & S. Waller (Ascomycota: Pezizomycotina) in the plantings of Donbass

In the autumn of 2025, the dangerous alien invasive fungus Cryptostroma corticale (Ellis & Everh.) P.H. Greg. & S. Waller (Ascomycota: Pezizomycotina), the causal agent of sooty bark disease of maples, was recorded in artificial plantings in Donbass (Lugansk and Donetsk People’s Republics). Abundant sporulation of the fungus was observed beneath the bark of Acer platanoides and A. pseudoplatanus. All infested trees died during the current year, despite having successfully produced foliage and fruits during the spring-summer period. The characteristic bark peeling of trunks and branches, typically associated with the disease, was not observed. In the detected foci, the incidence of the disease reached 15 % in Donetsk and up to 30 % in Lugansk. The article provides descriptions of disease symptoms as well as brief morphological and ecological-biological characteristics of the pathogen.