Identification and Characterization of Fungal Pathogens Causing Trunk and Branch Cankers of Almond Trees in Morocco
Canker symptoms were observed on almond trees in the Fez-Meknes region, Morocco. Isolations were conducted from the infected branch and trunk showing internal and external brown lesions. Four representative fungal isolates were screened, and their identities were confirmed by cultural traits and seq...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-12-01
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| Series: | Agronomy |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4395/13/1/130 |
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| author | Khadija Goura Rachid Lahlali Ouafaa Bouchane Mohammed Baala Nabil Radouane Jihane Kenfaoui Said Ezrari Hajar El Hamss Nabila El Alami Said Amiri Essaid Ait Barka Abdessalem Tahiri |
| author_facet | Khadija Goura Rachid Lahlali Ouafaa Bouchane Mohammed Baala Nabil Radouane Jihane Kenfaoui Said Ezrari Hajar El Hamss Nabila El Alami Said Amiri Essaid Ait Barka Abdessalem Tahiri |
| author_sort | Khadija Goura |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Canker symptoms were observed on almond trees in the Fez-Meknes region, Morocco. Isolations were conducted from the infected branch and trunk showing internal and external brown lesions. Four representative fungal isolates were screened, and their identities were confirmed by cultural traits and sequence analysis of DNA using two genes, the ITS region (internal transcribed spacer) and calmodulin (cmdA). The identified fungi were <i>Curvularia hawaiiensis</i>, <i>Fusarium ambrosium</i>, <i>Lasiodiplodia theobromae</i>, and <i>Chondrestereum purpureum.</i> The pathogenicity test on almond twigs revealed that these species were pathogenic to their host with different degrees of virulence, with <i>Lasiodiplodia theobromae</i> as the most virulent causing the longest necrotic lesion (285.17 mm) and the death of twigs. Physiological traits analysis of the above-mentioned fungi showed that the optimum mycelium growth response at different temperatures varies from 10 to 35 °C, while the pH ranges between 3.0 and 8.0. This study confirms the presence of canker pathogens on almond trees, which will contribute valuable information to improve the understanding of the contemporary status of almond trees, thus helping the improvement of the management of almond orchards. To our knowledge, all these fungi represent new records in Morocco and some of them are confirmed on the almond trees for the first time in the world. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T13:51:14Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-84a657bdac154706a73aaa5c2845cad7 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2073-4395 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T13:51:14Z |
| publishDate | 2022-12-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Agronomy |
| spelling | doaj.art-84a657bdac154706a73aaa5c2845cad72023-11-30T20:49:21ZengMDPI AGAgronomy2073-43952022-12-0113113010.3390/agronomy13010130Identification and Characterization of Fungal Pathogens Causing Trunk and Branch Cankers of Almond Trees in MoroccoKhadija Goura0Rachid Lahlali1Ouafaa Bouchane2Mohammed Baala3Nabil Radouane4Jihane Kenfaoui5Said Ezrari6Hajar El Hamss7Nabila El Alami8Said Amiri9Essaid Ait Barka10Abdessalem Tahiri11Phytopathology Unit, Department of Plant Protection, Ecole Nationale d’Agriculture de Meknès, Km10, Rte Haj Kaddour, BP S/40, Meknes 50001, MoroccoPhytopathology Unit, Department of Plant Protection, Ecole Nationale d’Agriculture de Meknès, Km10, Rte Haj Kaddour, BP S/40, Meknes 50001, MoroccoPhytopathology Unit, Department of Plant Protection, Ecole Nationale d’Agriculture de Meknès, Km10, Rte Haj Kaddour, BP S/40, Meknes 50001, MoroccoPhytopathology Unit, Department of Plant Protection, Ecole Nationale d’Agriculture de Meknès, Km10, Rte Haj Kaddour, BP S/40, Meknes 50001, MoroccoPhytopathology Unit, Department of Plant Protection, Ecole Nationale d’Agriculture de Meknès, Km10, Rte Haj Kaddour, BP S/40, Meknes 50001, MoroccoPhytopathology Unit, Department of Plant Protection, Ecole Nationale d’Agriculture de Meknès, Km10, Rte Haj Kaddour, BP S/40, Meknes 50001, MoroccoPhytopathology Unit, Department of Plant Protection, Ecole Nationale d’Agriculture de Meknès, Km10, Rte Haj Kaddour, BP S/40, Meknes 50001, MoroccoPhytopathology Unit, Department of Plant Protection, Ecole Nationale d’Agriculture de Meknès, Km10, Rte Haj Kaddour, BP S/40, Meknes 50001, MoroccoLaboratory of Biotechnology and Valorization of Phyto-Resources, Faculty of Sciences, Moulay Ismail University of Meknes, Avenue Zitoun, Meknes 50001, MoroccoPhytopathology Unit, Department of Plant Protection, Ecole Nationale d’Agriculture de Meknès, Km10, Rte Haj Kaddour, BP S/40, Meknes 50001, MoroccoUnité de Recherche Résistance Induite et Bio-Protection des Plantes-EA 4707, Université de Reims Champagne-Ardenne, 51100 Reims, FrancePhytopathology Unit, Department of Plant Protection, Ecole Nationale d’Agriculture de Meknès, Km10, Rte Haj Kaddour, BP S/40, Meknes 50001, MoroccoCanker symptoms were observed on almond trees in the Fez-Meknes region, Morocco. Isolations were conducted from the infected branch and trunk showing internal and external brown lesions. Four representative fungal isolates were screened, and their identities were confirmed by cultural traits and sequence analysis of DNA using two genes, the ITS region (internal transcribed spacer) and calmodulin (cmdA). The identified fungi were <i>Curvularia hawaiiensis</i>, <i>Fusarium ambrosium</i>, <i>Lasiodiplodia theobromae</i>, and <i>Chondrestereum purpureum.</i> The pathogenicity test on almond twigs revealed that these species were pathogenic to their host with different degrees of virulence, with <i>Lasiodiplodia theobromae</i> as the most virulent causing the longest necrotic lesion (285.17 mm) and the death of twigs. Physiological traits analysis of the above-mentioned fungi showed that the optimum mycelium growth response at different temperatures varies from 10 to 35 °C, while the pH ranges between 3.0 and 8.0. This study confirms the presence of canker pathogens on almond trees, which will contribute valuable information to improve the understanding of the contemporary status of almond trees, thus helping the improvement of the management of almond orchards. To our knowledge, all these fungi represent new records in Morocco and some of them are confirmed on the almond trees for the first time in the world.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4395/13/1/130cankerbrown lesionfungaloptimumphylogeneticphysiological traits |
| spellingShingle | Khadija Goura Rachid Lahlali Ouafaa Bouchane Mohammed Baala Nabil Radouane Jihane Kenfaoui Said Ezrari Hajar El Hamss Nabila El Alami Said Amiri Essaid Ait Barka Abdessalem Tahiri Identification and Characterization of Fungal Pathogens Causing Trunk and Branch Cankers of Almond Trees in Morocco Agronomy canker brown lesion fungal optimum phylogenetic physiological traits |
| title | Identification and Characterization of Fungal Pathogens Causing Trunk and Branch Cankers of Almond Trees in Morocco |
| title_full | Identification and Characterization of Fungal Pathogens Causing Trunk and Branch Cankers of Almond Trees in Morocco |
| title_fullStr | Identification and Characterization of Fungal Pathogens Causing Trunk and Branch Cankers of Almond Trees in Morocco |
| title_full_unstemmed | Identification and Characterization of Fungal Pathogens Causing Trunk and Branch Cankers of Almond Trees in Morocco |
| title_short | Identification and Characterization of Fungal Pathogens Causing Trunk and Branch Cankers of Almond Trees in Morocco |
| title_sort | identification and characterization of fungal pathogens causing trunk and branch cankers of almond trees in morocco |
| topic | canker brown lesion fungal optimum phylogenetic physiological traits |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4395/13/1/130 |
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