Characterization and Control of <i>Thielaviopsis punctulata</i> on Date Palm in Saudi Arabia
Date palm (<i>Phoenix dactylifera</i> L.) is the most important edible fruit crop in Saudi Arabia. Date palm cultivation and productivity are severely affected by various fungal diseases in date palm-producing countries. In recent years, black scorch disease has emerged as a devastating...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2022-01-01
|
| Series: | Plants |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/11/3/250 |
| _version_ | 1797485490840010752 |
|---|---|
| author | Khalid A. Alhudaib Sherif M. El-Ganainy Mustafa I. Almaghasla Muhammad N. Sattar |
| author_facet | Khalid A. Alhudaib Sherif M. El-Ganainy Mustafa I. Almaghasla Muhammad N. Sattar |
| author_sort | Khalid A. Alhudaib |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Date palm (<i>Phoenix dactylifera</i> L.) is the most important edible fruit crop in Saudi Arabia. Date palm cultivation and productivity are severely affected by various fungal diseases in date palm-producing countries. In recent years, black scorch disease has emerged as a devastating disease affecting date palm cultivation in the Arabian Peninsula. In the current survey, leaves and root samples were collected from deteriorated date palm trees showing variable symptoms of neck bending, leaf drying, tissue necrosis, wilting, and mortality of the entire tree in the Al-Ahsa region of Saudi Arabia. During microscopic examination, the fungus isolates growing on potato dextrose agar (PDA) media produced thick-walled chlamydospores and endoconidia. The morphological characterization confirmed the presence of <i>Thielaviopsis punctulata</i> in the date palm plant samples as the potential agent of black scorch disease. The results were further confirmed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR), sequencing, and phylogenetic dendrograms of partial regions of the ITS, TEF1-α, and β-tubulin genes. The nucleotide sequence comparison showed that the <i>T. punctulata</i> isolates were 99.9–100% identical to each other and to the <i>T. punctulata</i> isolate identified from Iraq-infecting date palm trees. The pathogenicity of the three selected <i>T. punctulata</i> isolates was also confirmed on date palm plants of Khalas cultivar. The morphological, molecular, and pathogenicity results confirmed that <i>T. punctulata</i> causes black scorch disease in symptomatic date palm plants in Saudi Arabia. Furthermore, seven commercially available fungicides were also tested for their potential efficacy to control black scorch disease. The in vitro application of the three fungicides Aliette, Score, and Tachigazole reduced the fungal growth zone by 86–100%, respectively, whereas the in vivo studies determined that the fungicides Aliette and Score significantly impeded the mycelial progression of <i>T. punctulata</i> with 40% and 73% efficiency, respectively. These fungicides can be used in integrated disease management (IDM) strategies to curb black scorch disease. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T23:19:32Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-6d08ec227269447b85e2a9d433aaef8b |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2223-7747 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T23:19:32Z |
| publishDate | 2022-01-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Plants |
| spelling | doaj.art-6d08ec227269447b85e2a9d433aaef8b2023-11-23T17:28:50ZengMDPI AGPlants2223-77472022-01-0111325010.3390/plants11030250Characterization and Control of <i>Thielaviopsis punctulata</i> on Date Palm in Saudi ArabiaKhalid A. Alhudaib0Sherif M. El-Ganainy1Mustafa I. Almaghasla2Muhammad N. Sattar3Department of Arid Land Agriculture, College of Agriculture and Food Sciences, King Faisal University, P.O. Box 420, Al-Ahsa 31982, Saudi ArabiaDepartment of Arid Land Agriculture, College of Agriculture and Food Sciences, King Faisal University, P.O. Box 420, Al-Ahsa 31982, Saudi ArabiaDepartment of Arid Land Agriculture, College of Agriculture and Food Sciences, King Faisal University, P.O. Box 420, Al-Ahsa 31982, Saudi ArabiaCentral Laboratories, King Faisal University, P.O. Box 420, Al-Ahsa 31982, Saudi ArabiaDate palm (<i>Phoenix dactylifera</i> L.) is the most important edible fruit crop in Saudi Arabia. Date palm cultivation and productivity are severely affected by various fungal diseases in date palm-producing countries. In recent years, black scorch disease has emerged as a devastating disease affecting date palm cultivation in the Arabian Peninsula. In the current survey, leaves and root samples were collected from deteriorated date palm trees showing variable symptoms of neck bending, leaf drying, tissue necrosis, wilting, and mortality of the entire tree in the Al-Ahsa region of Saudi Arabia. During microscopic examination, the fungus isolates growing on potato dextrose agar (PDA) media produced thick-walled chlamydospores and endoconidia. The morphological characterization confirmed the presence of <i>Thielaviopsis punctulata</i> in the date palm plant samples as the potential agent of black scorch disease. The results were further confirmed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR), sequencing, and phylogenetic dendrograms of partial regions of the ITS, TEF1-α, and β-tubulin genes. The nucleotide sequence comparison showed that the <i>T. punctulata</i> isolates were 99.9–100% identical to each other and to the <i>T. punctulata</i> isolate identified from Iraq-infecting date palm trees. The pathogenicity of the three selected <i>T. punctulata</i> isolates was also confirmed on date palm plants of Khalas cultivar. The morphological, molecular, and pathogenicity results confirmed that <i>T. punctulata</i> causes black scorch disease in symptomatic date palm plants in Saudi Arabia. Furthermore, seven commercially available fungicides were also tested for their potential efficacy to control black scorch disease. The in vitro application of the three fungicides Aliette, Score, and Tachigazole reduced the fungal growth zone by 86–100%, respectively, whereas the in vivo studies determined that the fungicides Aliette and Score significantly impeded the mycelial progression of <i>T. punctulata</i> with 40% and 73% efficiency, respectively. These fungicides can be used in integrated disease management (IDM) strategies to curb black scorch disease.https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/11/3/250<i>Thielaviopsis punctulata</i>date palmblack scorch diseasemulti-locus phylogeny |
| spellingShingle | Khalid A. Alhudaib Sherif M. El-Ganainy Mustafa I. Almaghasla Muhammad N. Sattar Characterization and Control of <i>Thielaviopsis punctulata</i> on Date Palm in Saudi Arabia Plants <i>Thielaviopsis punctulata</i> date palm black scorch disease multi-locus phylogeny |
| title | Characterization and Control of <i>Thielaviopsis punctulata</i> on Date Palm in Saudi Arabia |
| title_full | Characterization and Control of <i>Thielaviopsis punctulata</i> on Date Palm in Saudi Arabia |
| title_fullStr | Characterization and Control of <i>Thielaviopsis punctulata</i> on Date Palm in Saudi Arabia |
| title_full_unstemmed | Characterization and Control of <i>Thielaviopsis punctulata</i> on Date Palm in Saudi Arabia |
| title_short | Characterization and Control of <i>Thielaviopsis punctulata</i> on Date Palm in Saudi Arabia |
| title_sort | characterization and control of i thielaviopsis punctulata i on date palm in saudi arabia |
| topic | <i>Thielaviopsis punctulata</i> date palm black scorch disease multi-locus phylogeny |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/11/3/250 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT khalidaalhudaib characterizationandcontrolofithielaviopsispunctulataiondatepalminsaudiarabia AT sherifmelganainy characterizationandcontrolofithielaviopsispunctulataiondatepalminsaudiarabia AT mustafaialmaghasla characterizationandcontrolofithielaviopsispunctulataiondatepalminsaudiarabia AT muhammadnsattar characterizationandcontrolofithielaviopsispunctulataiondatepalminsaudiarabia |