Neoscytalidium (or N.) dimidiatum and N. novaehollandiae are two aggressive plant pathogenic species that affect several agricultural crops. Early detection and identification of these fungi are of critical importance to bring about the effective minimization to the threat they pose to the infected plants. Herein, two species of Neoscytalidium were rapidly discriminated by utilizing the rRNA internal transcribed (ITS4-5.8S-ITS5) PCR primers. A total of 100 isolates of Neoscytalidium species, which were isolated from Iraqi canker-infected fig trees, were included in this study. Two discrete electrophoretic PCR bands were observed in Neoscytalidium isolates-A-variants were about 546 bp, while B-variants were about 993 bp in length. The comprehensive phylogenetic analysis of both DNA variants revealed that A-variants resided between N. novaehollandiae and N. hyalinum, while B-variants were closely related to N. dimidiatum. Furthermore, the highly specific re-constructed tree of both electrophoretic variants demonstrated that B-variants share a high similarity with N. novaehollandiae. Additionally, the secondary structures for both variants were predicted computationally to reveal the structural patterns that each variant follows. In conclusion, a small rRNA locus comprising 22 nucleotides that differs in the two variants is potentially responsible for this species-specific classification. The main divergence in the amplified loci led to the classification of these fungal variants into two main species, namely N. dimidiatum and N. novaehollandiae, demonstrating that the amplification by ITS4-ITS5 rRNA fragment is a beneficial strategy that can be employed for the assessment of Neoscytalidium diversity in the natural ecosystems.

"The study was conducted in the laboratories of Faculty of Agriculture/University of Kufa for the period from 24/12/2017 to 24/2/2019 to isolate and diagnose fungi associated with imported bananas fruits (Musa spp.) in local markets. The study included five varieties of bananas for different origins to identify the ability of isolated fungi and their production for mycotoxins, including F. proliferatum. and evaluation of the effectiveness ultraviolet radiation uv-c with a wavelength of 254 nm, for 15 minutes and different concentrations of peppermint and aloevera extracts were evaluated their effectiveness in reducing of Fumonisin B1. The results showed the effect of UV-C and different concentrations of hot water extracts of peppermint and aloe vera to inhibit growth fungus F. proliferatum on PSA medium, a significant effect of peppermint extract,as it showed an inhibition of the growth fungus F. proliferatum. Concentration 1.5%, with amounted to 75.52% compared to control treatment, in which the percentage of inhibition was 0.00%. Ultraviolet light (UV-c) had a significant role in inhibiting the growth of the fungus. Inhibition which increasing the duration of the fungus exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation, as the duration of 15 minutes gave the highest rate of inhibition amounting to 81.35 % compared to control treatment of 0.00 %. The results also showed the high efficiency of ultraviolet radiation and peppermint extract at concentration of 1.5% in reducing toxicity of Fumonisin B1 and the protecting banana fruits from fungal infection, in addition to the possibility of prolonging the storage period."

أجريت هذه  الدراسة في محافظة القادسية/ العراق عام  2016 لغرض السيطرة على مرض ذبول السمسم المتسبب عن الفطر الممرض Fusarium solani  باستخدام  كالسماد العضوي وفطر المكافحة  الاحيائية Trichoderma harzianum و استخدام السماد الكيميائي  N.P.K والمبيد الفطري Beltanol للمقارنة. أظهرت النتائج وجود قدرة تضادية عالية للفطرharzianum  T. ضد الفطر الممرض F. solani بلغت 1.7 . اما المعاملة بالسماد العضوي فأنها ثبطت الفطر الممرض  F. solani بنسبة 66.66% و حفزت نمو فطر المكافحة الحيوية  T. harzianum بنسبة 27.71%  مقارنة بمعاملة المقارنة التي بلغت 0.00%، تلتها معاملة السماد الكيميائي   N.P.K التي ثبطت الفطر الممرض بنسبة 61.11% , في حين حفزت نمو فطر المكافحة الاحيائية بنسبة 21.05% مقارنة بمعاملة المقارنة التي بلغت 0.00%. أما المعاملة بالمبيد الفطري Beltanol  فكان لها تأثير تثبيطي عالي على النمو الشعاعي للفطر الممرض بلغت 100%, في حين لم يثبط فطر المكافحة الاحيائي عند التركيز 1 مل/ لتر نستنتج من ذلك إن إضافة السماد العضوي والفطر T. harzianum  قد  وفر حماية عالية للبذور و البادرات والنباتات من تأثير الفطر الممرض F. solani, مع زيادة لمؤشرات نمو و حاصل نباتات السمسم.

The aim of the research was to use the environment-friendly agents to reduce the effect of Neoscytalidium dimidiatum and Neoscytalidium novaehollandiae, that cause dieback and blacking stem on several agricultural crops. This disease was the first record on fig trees in Iraq by this study and registered in GenBank under accession numbers :   MF682357 , MF682358, in addition to its involvement in causing dermatomycosis to human.  In order to reduce environmental pollution due to chemical pesticides, two antagonistic bacteria Lactobacillus rhamnosus (isolated from yoghurt) and Azotobacter chroococcum (isolated from soil) were used to against pathogenic fungi N. dimidiatum and N. novahollandiae. The in vitro tests showed that both bio-agents bacteria were highly antagonistic to both pathogenic fungal reducing their radial growth to 44 and 75% respectively . Results of greenhouse experiments in pot showed that both A. chroococcum and L.rhamnosus decreased severity of infection by pathogenic fungi and enhanced plant health and growth. All the growth parameters of fig trees including leaf area, content of total chlorophyll, catalase and peroxidase activities were significantly higher compared to infected untreated control.

The aim of this study was to investigate the degradation of chemical compounds of five pesticides (Bayfidan EC, Bulldock EC, Oberon SC, Galaxy SL and Trayf EC) using the magnetic field interacted with two fungal species Aspergillus falavus and A. terres. Pesticides in the concentrated form were exposed to a magnetic field (0) for a period of 720 h and were used based on the recommended dose in two different culture media (PDA and PDB) to test the biodegradation level by the two fungi. The insecticide Bulldock was more toxic after exposure to the magnetic field and resulted in more inhibition rate on A. flavus than nonmagnetized. Exposure to magnetic field did not differ from non-exposure in terms of A. terres growth on both Bulldock and Oberon culture media. The biodegradation of Trayf was slightly affected by magnetic field exposure while galaxy was not affected. Bayfidan degradation was affected by the magnetic field. This magnetized fungicide was more toxic to A. terres, causing an inhibition rate of 54.33%.