Isolation and identification of the fungus Rhizoctonia solani from the leaves and branches of the Juniperus phoenicea in the Al-wasita area Al-Jabal Al-Akhdar –Libya

Abstract

The forests of the Juniperus phoenicea L. in the Al-Jabal Al-Akhdar region are going through a state of severe deterioration in some locations, to the state of total death and in other locations deterioration and partial death, where the deterioration begins with a change in the color of the leaves and branches in the form of yellowing and then turning brown, and the change begins in the retrograde, and at the late stage of degradation the trees die. Fungal isolates obtained from leaves and branches that show symptoms of death have been identified as Rhizoctonia solani this is the first report of Rhizoctonia solani in the Al-Wasita area of the Al-Jabal Al-Akhdar of Libya with an appearance rate of 56.25%, and about this fungus as one of the pathogens of Juniperus phoenicea.