Nasir Mehmood

First Report of pre-harvest fruit rot of strawberry caused by Botrytis cinerea in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) province & Islamabad (Pakistan)

Strawberry (Fragaria × ananassa Duch.) is an emerging fruit crop in Pakistan, cultivated on approximately 1500 hectares. A survey was conducted during each crop season viz. 2014-2015 and 2015-2016 in geographically important strawberry growing regions of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Islamabad . Fruit rot was observed in all surveyed fields that indicates 100 % prevalence of the disease in the study area . Affected tissue was covered with a thin layer of grayish white to dark gray mycelium, which later became fuzzy due to profusion of conidiophores, and rot enveloped the entire fruit. Rotted fruit gradually dried, becoming hard and mummified. Fruit tissue segments at the margins of lesions on infected fruit were cut into 3- to 5 mm2 pieces, surface disinfected with 2% sodium hypochlorite for 1 min, rinsed by washing three times in sterile distilled water, and blotted dry. Disinfected segments were placed on Czapek-Dox (CZ) agar and incubated at 25 ± 2°C. Grayish colonies were observed 3 to 5 days later. Colonies...

First report of strawberry leaf spot caused by Alternaria alternata in Pakistan

Strawberry (Fragaria × ananassa Duch.) has recently become an economically important fruit crop in Pakistan and is cultivated on approximately 1500 ha. A survey across Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) provinces and Islamabad (Islamabad Capital territory) was conducted during March and April of 2015-2016 growing season revealed black leaf spot symptoms on strawberry leaves. Leaf spots were irregular in shape, 3 to 6 mm in diameter, and blackish brown. Disease incidence was found 17 to 55 % in visited fields. Portions of symptomatic leaf tissue (3 × 5 mm) were excised from the margins of lesions; surface disinfected with 2% sodium hypochlorite for 2 min, rinsed three times in sterile distilled water (SDW) and blotted dry. Leaf tissue was then placed on Czapek Dox agar (CDA) and incubated at 25 ± 2°C with a 12-h photoperiod for 3 to 6 days. Morphology of the 78 isolates was examined; colonies were initially white, then turned light to dark brown and greyish black and produced abundant aerial hyphae. Conidiop...