The Department of Plant Protection at the College of Agriculture, University of Kerbala, discussed a Master’s thesis submitted by Zahraa Hussein Mujbil Al-Moussawi. The study addressed the interaction between seed rot and seedling damping-off in faba bean, in addition to root rot, and explored possibilities of managing these diseases through the integration of plant cultivars and biological agents.
The study covered several key aspects, including:
- Isolation and morphological as well as molecular identification of the most frequent fungi causing the studied diseases.
- Comparative study of the variation and interaction among the pathogenic agents.
- Evaluation of the effectiveness of different eco-friendly agents in reducing disease severity.
Recommendations
The study recommended the adoption of integrated disease management through:
• Combining biological and chemical factors such as Azotobacter spp., salicylic acid, and zinc.
• Isolating and evaluating the efficiency of new local isolates of biological agents (bacterial or fungal) from faba bean soil, and studying their biocontrol potential.
• Employing molecular and whole-genome characterization techniques to identify genetic differences among local fungal isolates.
• Conducting plant surveys to determine alternative hosts of the pathogenic fungi.
• Expanding the use of new factors such as natural plant extracts with antifungal properties and incorporating them into eco-friendly integrated disease management programs, with the aim of reducing reliance on chemical pesticides.
