Date Palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) Fungal Diseases in Najran, Saudi Arabia


	International Journal of Plant Pathology
	Year: 2011 \| Volume: 2 \| Issue: 3 \| Page No.: 126-135 DOI: 10.3923/ijpp.2011.126.135

Date Palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) Fungal Diseases in Najran, Saudi Arabia

M.I. Ammar and M.A. El-Naggar

Abstract: Date palm was considered the main social and economic crop in Saudi Arabia especially in desert region. The study was carried out to evaluate the distribution and incidence of various fungal diseases on date palm in major growing tracts of Najran. Survey was conducted during September 2010 and May 2011. A total of 25 locations distributed in seven districts were subjected for the study. The survey was conducted in several nurseries, private and public areas, while the isolation was performed on Potato Dextrose Agar (PDA) medium plates. The identification of fungal isolates depend on classic method and also advanced generation of BIOLOG system. The major diseases noticed in survey was offshoot decline, leaf spots, black scorch, leaf basal rot, leaf blight and bunch disorder. The diseases symptoms on different date palm cultivars were described. Fourteen different fungal species belong to eleven genera were associated with date palm cultivars exhibited different disease symptoms. The results of pathogencity test elucidated the pathogenic effect of eleven fungal species. Leaf spots disease was the most important, varied in shape and size and its incidence on individual farms. Helminthosporium sp., Dreschlera spicifera, Alternaria alternata and Sordaria fimicola were involved in the leaf spots and leaf blight diseases. Botryodiplodia theaobromae and Colletotrichum acutatum were the predominant pathogens found to be associated with offshoots decline and Ch. punctulata was identified as the causal agent of black scorch on date palm. The recording of C. acutatum, Sordaria fimicola, F.ventricosum and F. torulosum as true pathogen on date palm was the first time in Saudi Arabia.

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How to cite this article:

M.I. Ammar and M.A. El-Naggar, 2011. Date Palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) Fungal Diseases in Najran, Saudi Arabia. International Journal of Plant Pathology, 2: 126-135.

DOI: 10.3923/ijpp.2011.126.135

URL: https://scialert.net/abstract/?doi=ijpp.2011.126.135

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