Basrah Journal For Date Palm Research

The results of the investigation of fungi contaminating date palm tissue cultures revealed the isolation of 33 fungal species belonging to 14 genera with five sterile mycelia, which were diagnosed based on morphological and microscopic characteristics. Results of the anatomical study showed the presence of significant differences in the characteristics of bundle diameter and the number of tannin cells, with insignificant differences in the rest of the examined characteristics from the anatomical point of view of the callus of date palms of the healthy and contaminated Barhi cultivar. The results of the study also showed the effect of fungi on the tissues of the contaminated callus and the presence of degrading of the cell walls compared to the healthy callus.

The study was conducted on different samples of Iraqi honey and molasses brought from local markets in Basra. The study included the effect of heating treatment and storage on the levels of hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) and due to their importance in the quality of honey and molasses, The results showed significant differences between the averages. (P˂ 0.05). In both (HMF) and pH values. In honey samples, the highest value for (HMF) was 88.00 mg/kg in the heating treated mountain honey sample, and the lowest value was 14.01 mg/kg in processing honey. In molasses samples, the highest value for (HMF) a heating treatment processing molasses sample was 127.90, and the lowest value in a natural molasses 1 sample, was 25.89 mg/kg. The highest value for (HMF) with honey stored for a year was 100.11 mg/kg in local honey sample 1, and the lowest value in local honey 2 was 41.31 mg/kg. The pH values of honey and molasses samples, its highest value was in the heating treated molasses 2 sample, 5.31, and its lowest value was in the mountain honey sample, 3.1.

This study was conducted in a private orchard in Al-Medina district, Basrah Governorate, Iraq, during the 2022 growing season. The aim was to determine the effect of spraying date palm trees Barhi Cv. derived from tissue culture with a mixture of plant growth regulators and amino acids to improve fruit set and reduce parthenocarpic fruits. This was done using a mixture of plant growth regulators (IAA auxin, Kin cytokinin, GA3 gibberellin) and a mixture of amino acids (glutamic Glu, glycine Gly, methionine Met, lysine Lys) at concentrations of 50 and 100 mg.L-1, as well as their interactions and a control treatment. The study results showed that spraying with a mixture of amino acids or plant growth regulators at a concentration of 100 mg.L-1 led to an increase in the percentage of fruit set and a decrease in the percentage of parthenocarpic fruits, reaching 57.77% and 55.55% for fruit set and 41.11% and 44.44% for parthenocarpic fruits for the two mixtures respectively. The interaction between the two mixtures was more effective, increasing the fruit set to 70% and reducing parthenocarpic fruit to 30%. Additionally, it improved the biochemical characteristics of the fruits compared to the control treatment, with the content of free amino acids (4.20 and 4.47), soluble proteins (7.12 and 7.61), total soluble carbohydrates (11.89 and 12.35), and total phenolic compounds (8.42 and 8.39) mg.g-1, for the amino acid mixture and plant growth regulators spraying treatments respectively. The interaction between the amino acid mixture and plant growth regulators at a concentration of 100 mg/L was more effective than their individual effects.

Inflorescence rot is one of dangerous diseases on date palm, caused by the fungus Mauginiella scaettae, it causes a major economic loss across all cultivation regions. This disease causes damage and rotting the inflorescence. To control this disease and improve date palm productivity, effective management program alongside monitoring practices must be implemented. Agricultural practices such as proper irrigation, remove infected parts, application of pesticides, and biological control are importance to maintaining the health of date palm growth. Additionally, create unfavorable conditions for pathogens growth. New technologies such as remote sensing, predictive disease and genetic engineering play an essential role in the early detective of the disease and the development of resistant cultivars. By applying these techniques, effective management of inflorescence rot disease is guaranteed.

This study aimed to test the efficiency of the biological agent Trichoderma longibrachiatum and some chemical pesticides in inhibiting some pathogens that cause the date palm inflorescence rot in the laboratory. The fungus M. scaettae and some species belong to Fusarium spp. were isolated, including F. solani, F. oxysporum and F. moniliforme. The fungus Alternaria alternata was also isolated from infected palm pollen in some palm groves in Basrah Governorate. The fungi were diagnosed morphologically and tested their pathogenicity. The results showed that F. oxysporum and M. scaettae showed the highest degree of infection severity and the highest percentage of yield loss, reaching 90.92% and 84.01%, respectively, with a significant difference from the treatment of F. solani and A. alternata, which showed moderate infection severity and a percentage of yield loss of 42.7% and 33.77%, respectively, while the treatment of F. moniliforme gave the lowest degree of infection severity and the percentage of yield loss was 16.04%.. The antagonistic efficiency of the fungus T. longibrachiatum was also tested and the results showed that it has high efficiency against fungi species that cause the inflorescence rot disease. The effect of three concentrations (25%, 50% and 100%) of the recommended doses of five types of chemical pesticides on the inhibition of pathogens was studied: Ortiva Top, Goldazim, Brik, Pilarhymex and Bravo. The highest inhibition rate of pathogenic fungi was achieved when treated with Ortiva Top which achieved of 92.76%, followed by Brik pesticide treatment at an inhibition rate of 90.99%, while the treatment of pesticides, Pilarhymex and Goldazim recorded an inhibition rate of 87.03% and 85.97%, respectively. The lowest inhibition rate was achieved when treated with Bravo pesticide at 81.13%.

This study involved the synthesis and structural characterization of Coumarin-containing chalcone derivatives as a fungicide. Several spectroscopic techniques, including FTIR, 1H NMR, and 13C NMR, were used to confirm their structures. The coumarin-chalcone hybrid compounds were tested in vitro for their ability to reduce the main contaminating fungi that infest in vitro culture labs. According to the study's findings, the PDA medium supplemented with 1.5 and 2 mg/L concentrations of all synthesis of coumarin-chalcone derivatives showed no signs of contaminating fungi. While the concentration of 1.0 mg/L showed weak inhibition, compared to the growth of fungi in the control treatment (not treated with chalcone derivatives), in which the diameter growth of the contaminated fungi reached 9 cm (100%). In addition, it was found that, in comparison to the control, the cultures treated with chalcone derivatives over longer periods showed a trend toward decreased and delayed biomass production. Compared to controls, coumarin-chalcone hybrid treatments at 1.5 and 2.0 mg/L did not result in fungal contamination in vitro culture experiments. Furthermore, the result of the in vitro culture experiment of date palm found the multiplication rate of shoots enhanced in MS supplemented with coumarin-chalcone hybrids at a concentration of 1.5 mg/L increased considerably to 32.24%, compared with 12.33% in the control. The results of this investigation will offer practical recommendations for lowering or removing the risk of fungal contamination by applying Coumarin-Chalcone Hybrid as an environmentally friendly fungicide.

Temperature is one of the crucial factors that can affect the success of pollination in date palm. The present investigated the impact of bagging treatments and boron spraying on temperature, hormone levels, and fruit set in Barhee date palms cultivar derived from tissue culture. The study also measured the levels of plant hormones, including indole acetic acid, gerbilline acid, kinetin-like compound, and abscisic acid, before and after pollination under different treatments. The results showed that bagging treatments significantly affected the temperature inside the bags, with higher temperatures observed in the white paper treatment. The results also showed that the levels of these hormones varied depending on the treatment and stage of fruit development. the high levels of IAA and KC show in the pollination treatments involving brown paper and white paper, the highest levels of GA3 were found in bagging with brown paper without pollination. The temperature has been shown to significantly affect the levels of GAs and ABA in flowers, leading to Parthenocarpic fruit. Treatment with spraying boron and bagging with brown paper showed the highest percentage of seeded fruit set while bagging with brown paper without pollination resulted in the highest percentage of seedless fruit set. The study highlights the importance of carefully managing bagging treatments for successful pollination and fruit set in date palm cultivation. Maintaining optimal temperature conditions is crucial for successful pollination in date palms.

Anatomy is highly important as a linking medium between several key branches of modern plant science. Detailed anatomical studies allow a more detailed understanding to achieve the ambitious goal of acquiring a holistic knowledge of plant development and aspects of cell and tissue differentiation. This study was carried out in the laboratories of Date Palm Research Centre at Basra University during the period from 2022-2023. The histological process of adventitious bud regeneration from the shoot tip explants of Phoenix dactylifera L ‘Barhee’ was reported in this study. Shoot regeneration was obtained from Murashige and Skoog (MS) supplemented with 1 mg l−1 naphthalene-acetic acid (NAA), 0.5 mg l−1 6-benzyladenine (BA), and 0.5 mg l−1 kinetin (Kn) at a 16 hours photoperiod. The anatomical study of the responded explants revealed the presence of a mechanism for the differentiation of adventitious buds from shoot-tip. Further, a histological study showed that there were multiple vascular bundles around the adaxial side of explants, and the adventitious buds directly originated from the parenchymatous cells around the vascular bundles without the intervening callus phase. The parenchymatous cells started dividing and meristemoids formed thereafter. The meristematic cells continued division and subsequently gave rise to bud primordia. Well-developed shoot buds through direct organogenesis were achieved after 28 weeks of culture.