Integrated Control of Some Fungal Diseases Affecting Guava and Pomegranate from Farm to Fork in Egypt

Abstract

These studies aim to identify a group of pathogens and design an integrated control program reducing the infection in Guava Psidium guajava and Pomegranate Punica granatum by cross inoculation method. Almost eight fungi were collected from governorate Ismaelia and Behera in 2020. Alternaria alternate, Fusarium spp, Phomopsis psidii, Macrophomina spp., Cercospora spp. Botrytis cineria and Pestalotia spp. were the most frequencies isolated fungi on all fruits. In the second season 2021 we treated trees with biocides, fungicides and fertilizer they gave significant differences between the treated treatments and control .The bluegreen algae bio treatment, showed the best results compared with both of RizoN and Plantagaurd treatments, the percentage of disease severity on the leaves was 13.4%, compared to the control45%, the best chemical treatment was Fungalpro, Topsin and Collise, where the disease severity was 0% in case of guava ,the same results obtained in pomegranate .At the end of the season, the best results were in the treatment with fungalpro which gave the least disease severity percentage on each of the leaves, branches and fruits in both guava and pomegranate .In the third season 2022 we applied integrated control program there were a significant decrease in pathogenic fungi in leaves, branches, flowers and ripe fruits, as the population at the end of the season for some fungi reached zero, such as Phomopsis sp. and Pestalotia sp. As Alternaria fungus, the results showed significant differences compared with the control, with regard to Guava, the percentage of disease severity in fruits was 8.75% and 9.75% in both Ismailia and South of Tahrir, respectively, compared to the control, which reached 85.5% and 88.5% in Ismailia and South of Tahrir, respectively. The results for pomegranate followed the same pattern.