Haya: The Saudi Journal of Life Sciences (SJLS)
Volume-4 | Issue-03 | 131-136
Original Research Article
Phylloplane Mycoflora of Date Palm (Phoenix Dactylifera) From Shuqaiq Region of Jizan Province, Saudi Arabia
Dr. Syeda Fatima Manzelat
Published : April 30, 2019
Abstract
Date Palm (Phoenix dactylifera) is considered as the "tree of life" as it has contributed in so many ways to all aspects of
life for thousands of years. Dates are implicated to possess medicinal properties in addition to its nutritional value. This is
the first study to isolate and identify the phylloplane mycoflora associated with date palm from Shuqaiq region of Jizan
province. Potato Dextrose media was used for the growth of mycoflora which was inoculated by 0.5cm direct pieces of
the diseased parts leaves of the date palm. A qualitative and quantitative assessment of mycoflora was carried out by the
fungal cultures on the petri plates and the slides were identified by microscopic and macroscopic characteristics.The
mycoflora isolated belongs to the four classes of fungi Zygomycotina, Oomycotina, Basidiomycotina and Ascomycotina.
Forty three isolates represented by fourteen genera Absidia, Aspergillus Botrytis, Curvularia, Epicoccum, Penicillium,
Periconia, Phoma , Phytopthora , Rhizoctonia, Rhizopus, Saprolegnia, Syncephalastrum and Ceratocystis were isolated
during this study.The diverse group of genera isolated are phytopathogenic and are the causal organisms for a number of
important date palm diseases. This leads to poor health and fruit quality and hence the diseases need to be controlled and
the palm protected.