Abstract
Several fungal plant pathogens are posing serious threat to the Ficus spp. grown as an ornamental plant for landscaping world
over. Dieback disease is one of the major limiting factors in Ficus spp selection and cultivation as an ornamental plant. Typical
Dieback disease symptoms were recorded on Ficus plantation from different commercial ornamental plant growing nurseries
and several other landscape areas of Punjab, Pakistan. A prospective etiological study was planned and conducted using certain
basic and molecular methods. Frequently associated Fusarium spp. were tested for pathogenicity confirmation using Koch’s
postulates on Ficus benjamina L. Among these tested fungal isolates, FMB-45-Fi was proved as principal cause of dieback on
Ficus species. The pathogenic isolate was subjected to molecular characterization by exploring three genomic regions (ITS,
TEF1-α and RPBII). Molecular data validated the pathogenic isolate as Fusarium proliferatum. Here, we documented
Fusarium proliferatum as causative agent of dieback in Ficus spp. in Punjab Pakistan and it is a first record to the best of our
knowledge.
Aisha Khalid Naeem, Imran Ul Haq, Siddra Ijaz, Sajid Aleem Khan, Rashad Waseem Khan Qadri. (2020) UNVEILING THE Fusarium proliferatum ASSOCIATION WITH FICUS DIEBACK FROM PUNJAB, PAKISTAN, Pakistan Journal of Agricultural Sciences, Volume 57, Issue 5.
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