1Department of Arid Land Agriculture, College of Agricultural and Food Science, King Faisal University, Saudi Arabia
2Department of Agricultural and Food Sciences, Plant Pathology, Alma Mater Studiorum, University of Bologna, Italy
3Plant Pests and Diseases Unit, College of Agricultural and Food Sciences, King Faisal University, Saudi Arabia
4Plant Pathology Research Institute, Agricultural Research Centre, Giza, Egypt
*Corresponding author e-mail: Nicoletta Contaldo (nicoletta.contaldo2@unibo.it)
Online published on 31 January, 2020.
In the last years, some reports of phytoplasmas presence in date palms have appeared indicating that these pathogens have a growing importance in this crop species. The present work was conducted to verify the possibility to isolate phytoplasmas infecting date palms in Saudi Arabia as alternative and/or complementary method to the amplification of 16Sr ribosomal gene. The comparison of phytoplasma detection from field infected materials and by isolation and colonies in culture indicates that the complexity of phytoplasma associated diseases is greater than believed and it is very likely that the symptomatology observed is the result of complex of microorganisms (mainly phytoplasmas) interaction. Further studies following this methodology would help in the better understanding of this complexity of phytoplasmas toward designing appropriate tools for the containment and management of these epidemic diseases to reduce their economic impact.
Date palm yellowing, isolation in media, molecular detection, plant disease
