Naureen Akhtar

• PhD, School of Biology, University of St Andrews, UK
• Professor (Assistant) at University of the Punjab

Potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) is one of the most important crops in maintaining global food security. Plant stand and yield are affected by production technology, climate, soil type, and biotic factors such as insects and diseases. Numerous fungal diseases including Neocosmospora rubicola, causing stem rot, are known to have negative effects on pot...

Conventional management of stem rot disease of potato, caused by Neocosmospora rubicola, through fungicide application is an environmentally unfavorable practice that calls for an alternative biocontrol approach. Plant growth-promoting bacteria (PGPB) are known to not only promote plant growth but also control diseases caused by various fungi. The...

Abstract The current study was designed to evaluate the antifungal properties of Datura metel L. against Rizoctonia solani Kuhn. To achieve this objective, six concentrations of leaves & stem methanol extract of D. metel viz. 1%, 1.5%, 2%, 2.5%, 3% & 3.5% were tested against R. solani in vitro. Leaf extract of D. metel was found more effective as i...

Banana is a commercially and nutritionally important food crop worldwide and is affected by several fungal diseases. The most important post-harvest disease is fruit rotting. Fruit rot is responsible for significant losses in banana. The present study was therefore, designed to isolate and explore the mycoflora associated with banana fruit rot. For...

The application of various strategies is being used to manage the Plant diseases. These strategies are used for the management of plant diseases by applying the cultural, genetical, chemical and biological controls. The biological control approaches are getting more importance on account of their less expensive and environmental, friendly usage. Th...

Potato (Solanum tuberosum) is one of the important staple crops over the world. Potato crop is threatening by a number of biotic stresses which not only affect plant health and yield but also the quality of the produce. Among biotic diseases, fungal stem and tuber rot are the most common diseases that cause significant loss in potato production in...

Soil pH, ECe, N, K, P and organic matter in 12 soil samples collected from different tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) tunnels were in the range of 7.7 - 8.3, 0.40 - 2.45 dS/cm, 0.02 - 0.10%, 40 - 282 ppm, 12 - 123 ppm and 0.42 - 2.02%, respectively. A total of 20 fungal species belonging to ten genera, namely Aspergilus, Alternaria, Cladosporium, D...

Role of Trichoderma species is well documented as antagonists as well as plant growth enhancers. Presently, the fungicidal potential of three Trichoderma species namely, T. koningii (FCBP769) , T. viride (FCBP904) , and T. harzianum (FCBP1277) was assessed against Alternaria alternata that causes leaf necrotic spots of Syzygium cumini and broad ran...

Solanum melongena is a popular and edible vegetable crop of Pakistan. Outbreak of irregular necrotic leaf spots with darker margins was observed. Initially the morphological identification was executed by studying the pathogen. On the bases of olive green colonies, greenish black elongated conidiophores and ellipsoidal branched conidia, the pathoge...

Rotting of guava fruits, selling in local fruit markets of three districts of Punjab, Pakistan i.e. Lahore, Shiekhupura and Kasur was observed in September 2014. Isolation and identification of causal organism was carried out from the diseased fruits. Aspergillus awamori was identified based on morphological characters. Identification was further v...

Bakanae disease caused by different species of Fusarium, is one of the most emerging diseases of rice in Asia which is responsible for significant yield losses of this staple crop. The present study was designed to isolate and identify causal fungus and then the pathogen management by methanolic extract of a brassicaceous weed, Coronopus didymus. B...

Broccoli (Brassica oleracea L. var. italica Plenck) is comparatively a new vegetable crop in Pakistan. Recently, a fungal leaf spot disease was noticed on broccoli plants. In the present study, causal organism of broccoli leaf spot was isolated and identified on morphological as well as molecular bases. Molecular characterization of the pathogen wa...

Twelve soil samples were collected from fields of cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) tunnels from various localities of Lahore and Shekhupura districts, Pakistan. Soil samples were analyzed for various characteristics viz. pH, ECe, organic matter, nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K). Soil mycoflora was isolated using dilution plate method. So...

Combretum indicum leaf spot disease was observed during a survey of horticultural plants in Lahore. Isolation of causal organism was carried out from the disease leaves. The pathogen, Alternaria brassicae, was first identified considering morphological characters. The morphology based identification was confirmed by nucleotide sequence analysis of...

In present study, effect of three fungicides, Iprobenfos, Fosetylaluminium and Azoxystrobin, on substrate specificity of NrtA and NrtB nitrate transporter proteins of Aspergillus nidulans has been studied. Azoxystrobin inhibited the growth of A. nidulans strains more strongly than Iprobenfos and Fosetyl aluminium. At0.25R of Iprobenfos, approximate...

Diseases caused by fungal pathogens are very common to occur worldwide. Biological control is a method that offers harmless fungal management program and an alternative for dependence on chemical treatments. A survey was conducted in vicinity of Institute of Agricultural Sciences, University of the Punjab, Lahore and Money plant (Epipremnum aureum)...

Food poisoning due to toxicity of heavy metals and pathogenic microorganisms is a major food safety issue that impacts on agriculture production. In the current research work, polygonal interaction of plant-pathogen-metal was investigated in vitro in terms of seed germination, seedling growth, physiology and antioxidant enzymes activity in Vigna mu...

In October 2014, a leaf spot disease was observed on Ficus religiosa trees growing on Quaid-e-Azam Campus, University of the Punjab, Lahore Pakistan. Spots were brown, irregular in shape, and ranging in size from 1 to 3 mm. Mature spots merged to form larger necrotic areas. The infection covered about 50% of the leaf area and approximately 30% of t...

Necrosis on Cycas revoluta leaves was observed on trees growing in a local garden in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. Phoma herbarum was isolated and identified on the basis of morphological characters from the necrotic areas of leaf. Morphology-based identification was confirmed by sequencing of ITS region of rDNA. Koch’s pathogenicity postulates were ve...

The present investigation deals with the morphological and biochemical identification of rhizobacteria having plant growth promoting characteristics, with a focus on the family Papilionaceae, whose representatives are widespread in nature as leguminous crops. Eleven bacterial strains were isolated from the rhizoplane of pea (Pisum sativum L.), chic...

Mustard (Brassica compestris), one of the vegetables grown in Pakistan, is a highly valued crop also because of its edible oil-rich seeds, that have great medicinal potential. Mustard seeds stored in Lahore were found to be colonized by a previously undetected black powdery mold. Twenty infected seeds from three different wharehouses of Lahore were...

During a survey of fields in and around the Quaid-e-Azam Campus, University of the Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan, during March 2015, leaves of sow thistle (Sonchus oleraceus), a plant having high medicinal and antimicrobial potential, infected with 1 to 4 mm necrotic dark brown irregular spots were observed. These spots coalesced forming larger necrotic...

In October 2014, plants of Polyalthia longifolia, an ornamental growing on the premises of University of the Punjab, Lahore were observed, that showed brown circular spots 1 to 2 mm in size covering 30 to 40% of the leaf blade. Small tissue pieces from a number of spots were surface-sterilized, plated in malt extract agar (MEA) and incubated at 25±...

Triangle palm [Dypsis decaryi (Jum.) Beentje & Dansf.] is an important ornamental plant in many palm gardens of the world. Recently, a leaf spot disease on triangle palm was observed in Jinnah Garden, Lahore, Pakistan. Alternaria brassicicola (Schwein.) Wiltshire was isolated, purified and identified on the basis of morphological observations, anal...

In August 2014, seeds of Glycine max in storage rooms at Lahore, Pakistan, were found to be colonized by an unknown fungus. For pathogen isolation, seeds were incubated on moist blotters, developing a green mass of fungal spores. Spores were transferred to Czapek Dox agar medium and in-cubated at 25 ± 2°C. After 7 days of incubation colonies were v...

Post-harvest diseases of fruits are the major threat to fruit quality and cause heavy economic losses. During a survey of the local fruit market in Lahore in the summer of 2014, several samples of rotted loquat fruits were collected to identify the causal organism. Geotrichum candidum (FCBP1335) was isolated, purified and identified initially on th...

In vitro tolerance of soil borne phytopathogenic fungus i.e. Alternaria alternata in terms of growth, physiology and metal uptake capacity against different doses of copper [Cu(II)] metal was assessed. In preliminary growth experiments, nitrate, chloride and sulphate of Cu(II) were amended in seven different concentrations viz. 25, 50, 75, 80, 85,...

Garlic (Allium sativum) is an herb used for medicines as well as to flavor food. In 2013, rotting garlic bulbs were observed by vegetable sellers in the local markets of Lahore, Pakistan. To identify the source of the rot, a survey was conducted in June 2013 at three different vegetable markets in Lahore. From each market, ten 5-kg packages of garl...

The NrtA and NrtB nitrate transporters are paralogous members of the major facilitator superfamily in Aspergillus nidulans. The availability of loss-of-function mutations allowed individual investigation of the specificity and inhibitor sensitivity of both NrtA and NrtB. In this study, growth response tests were carried out at a growth limiting con...

Canola (Brassica napus L.) is a major edible oil producing crop belongs to family Brassicaceae. Species of genus Alternaria have always been an increasing threat to Brassicaceae crops as pathogen of black spot diseases in plants. The present study was conducted to analyze the content of chlorophyll, protein and proline along with activities of pero...

Species of Genus Aspergillus are ubiquitous and have been involved in human affairs since centuries mainly due to their industrial applications and pathogenicity. In the recent past, larvae of Galleria mellonella are emerged as effective infection model for both bacteria and fungi. In this present study different species of Aspergillus have been ev...

Potato (Solanum tuberosum) is one of the most important vegetable crops worldwide, including Pakistan. During surveys from November to February of 2011 to 2013 in Sahiwal (Punjab), a severe leaf spot disease, new to farmers, was recorded. Symptoms consisted of 1- to 3-mm diameter black circular necrotic spots and appeared on the leaves of 2- to 3-w...

Black Aspergilli (Aspergillus section Nigri) have agricultural and industrial importance. Several species of this group are recognized human pathogens and some are mycotoxin producers. Despite of their wide use in teaching and research, taxonomy of this group remains unclear due to very close morphological features. Present study is aimed to distin...

Ginger (Zingiber officinale) rhizome is widely used in Pakistan as a spice. During the summer of 2013, several ginger sellers in a local vegetable market of Lahore, Pakistan, reported a green powdery mass of an unidentified pathogen that rotted a considerable quantity of ginger in its packaging. As far as we know, this disease was limited to stored...

A rice field owned by an individual grower in Lahore, Pakistan, was surveyed in July 2013. Plants with symptoms of black, circular, necrotic spots 3 to 4 mm in diameter and an average of 8 to 10 spots per leaf were observed. Diseased plants were present in the field either singly or in groups of three to five. Ten symptomatic plants were selected r...

Rice (Oryza sativa) is one of the most profitable and popular cereal crops in Pakistan. In July 2012, symptoms consisting of circular, black, necrotic spots, 2 to 4 mm in diameter, were observed on leaves of a commonly grown rice cultivar, Basmati-198, in private rice fields at Lahore (Punjab). This disease was observed later on rice cultivar KSK-1...

Tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) is one of the most popular and significant commercial crop of Pakistan. Outbreak of leaf spot was observed on leaves of tomato plants growing in fields of Lahore. Causal organism was isolated and initially identified on the basis of morphological characters. Complete description of macro and microscopic charac...

Fungal spot disease is an emerging problem of canola, a major edible oil producing crop in Pakistan. During present study, Alternaria sp. was isolated and identified from the different infected tissues of diseased plant. Picoxystrobin were screened for their efficacy in controlling the identified pathogen. Maximum reduction of 90% in fungal growth...

Eucalyptus camaldulensis is a powerful antiseptic and is used for relieving coughs, cold, sore throats and other infections. It is conventionally used against deteriorating diseases so it is an important task to gauge their antioxidant activity. Antioxidant potential and radical scavenging activity of the five fractions were examined by using diffe...

Alternaria destruens (Simmons) is a serious pathogen of Brassica napus L. as well as the other members of mustard family resulting in significant yield loss worldwide. Fourier transform-infrared spectroscopy is a new, rapid, easy technique to study the compositional and metabolic changes in the plant cell wall after any biotic or abiotic stresses....

Common to all of the nitrate nitrite porter family are two conserved motifs in transmembrane helices 5 and 11 termed NS (nitrate signature) 1 and NS2. Although perfectly conserved substrate-interacting arginine residues have been described in transmembrane helices 2 and 8, the role of NSs has not been investigated. In the present study, a combinati...

Canola is a cash commercial crop renowned for its edible oil production ability. Brown and black spot diseases of stem and leaves of canola plants caused by Alternaria species have always been a threat for their growth and productivity ultimately economic loss. Several strategies have been adopted to control these fungal pathogens, while, use of co...

In vitro efficacy of four fungicides viz. Acrobat MZ 75/667WP, Dithan M-45 80% WP, Mancozeb 80% WP and Metalaxyl plus Mancozeb 72% WP was evaluated against Botryodiplodia theobromae Pat., the cause of dying back disease of mango (Mangifera indica L.). Antifungal activity was assessed in Basal Broth medium. Different doses of the test fungicides viz...

Efficacy of four fungicides namely Acrobat MZ, Dithane M-45, Aliette and Metalaxyl plus Mancozeb was tested against seed-borne mycoflora of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). Four fungal species viz. Drechslera australiensis (Bugnicourt) Subramanian & Jain, Aspergillus terreus Thom, Alternaria alternata (Fr.) Keissler and Fusarium oxysporum were isolate...

A general survey of the province Punjab revealed high dieback incidence in babul or Kikar [Acacia nilotica (L.) Willd. ex Del.] in northern Punjab while disease incidence in southern Punjab was very low. A thorough survey of four severely affected districts of the northern Punjab viz. Sialkot, Gujranwala, Lahore and Sheikhupura indicated that more...

Fusarium solani (Mart.) Appel & Wr. was isolated from the roots of shisham (Dalbergia sissoo Roxb.) plants of 6– 30 years age, showing symptoms of wilt disease at different stages. In vitro toxicity assays with three fungicides revealed that Benomyl is the most effective in controlling mycelial growth of F. solani followed by Ridomil Gold while Ali...

Aqueous root, stem and leaf extracts of 0, 5, 10 and 15 % w/v of an allelopathic plant species viz. Cirsium arvense were evaluated for their potential to control germination and seedling growth of two weed species, Phalaris minor and Poa annua . All the aqueous extracts reduced germination in two test weeds. However, effect was insignificant statis...

Effect of aqueous root and shoot extract of three allelopathic plants of family Asteraceae viz., Helianthus annuus L., Ageratum conyzoides L. and Cirsium arvense (L.) Scop., on growth of three pathogenic fungi namely Aspergillus niger Van Tieghem, A. fumigatus Fresenius and A. nidulans Eidam was studied in Hagem`s liquid nutrient medium. Root extra...