EFFICIENCY OF SOME FUNGICIDE ALTERNATIVES TO CONTROL DATE PALM DISEASES

Several alternative control methods were evaluated against some important date palm diseases i.e.  false leaf smut, inflorescence rot, black scorch, basal leaf rot and  leaf spot . Results revealed that, using plant extracts and essential oils in addition to  some biocontrol agents gave similar control capacity as fungicides. Using plant extracts of  Neem, swamp mahogany, garlic and jasmine suppressed infection with studied diseases at 100 ppm while, Nigella and rocket were the most effective oils at the same concentration. T. harzianum , T. viride and B. subtilis isolate (1) were the most effective in reducing diseases incidence. Data show that, Diathen M was the most effective fungicide in controlling all studied diseases at dose 1.5 g/liter except black scarch where Daconil was the  most effective at the same dose.