spp. associated with root rot and stunting of winter crops in North Carolina.

Annual double-crop rotation systems that incorporate winter wheat, clary sage, or a cover crop are common in eastern North Carolina. Stunting and root rot of clary sage ( L.) reduce yields of this crop, especially in wet soils. Stunting and reduced stand establishment also afflict winter cover crops, including rye, rapeseed, and winter pea. spp. are causal agents of root rot of winter wheat in this region, but their role in root rot and stunting of other winter crops is not understood. During the growing seasons of 2018-2019 and 2019-2020 samples of clary sage, rye, rapeseed, and winter pea displaying symptoms of stunting were collected across eastern NC, resulting in the recovery of 420 isolates of from the roots of all hosts. , , and the complex sp. cluster B2A were the most frequently isolated species from clary sage. and were aggressive pathogens of clary sage at 18°C, and caused moderate root rot at 28°C. Koch's postulates confirmed that isolates belonging to sp. cluster B2A, , , , , and are pathogens of clary sage. (37% of all isolates) and members of the species complex sp. cluster B2A (28% of all isolates) comprised the majority of isolates collected from all hosts and were the most frequently isolated species from rye, rapeseed, and winter pea. In pathogenicity assays, isolates representing and caused slight to moderate root necrosis on rye, rapeseed, and winter pea. Isolates representing sp. cluster B2A caused slight to moderate root necrosis on rapeseed and clary sage, but no symptoms on rye or winter pea.