Late blight disease of potato and tomato, caused by Phytophthora infestans, results in serious losses to Egyptian and global potato and tomato production. To understand the structure and dynamics of the Egyptian population of P. infestans, 205 isolates were collected from potato and tomato plants during three growing seasons in 2010–2012. The characterization was achieved by mating-type assay, metalaxyl sensitivity assay, and virulence pattern. Additionally, genotyping of 85 Egyptian isolates and 15 reference UK isolates was performed using 12 highly informative microsatellite (SSR) markers and five effector (RxLR) genes. Mating-type testing showed that 58% (118 of 205) of the isolates belonged to mating type A1, 35% (71 isolates) to mating type A2, and the rest 8% (16 isolates) were self-fertile. The phenotype of metalaxyl response was represented as 45% resistant, 43% sensitive, and 12% as intermediate. Structure analysis grouped the 85 identified genotypes into two main clonal lineages. The first clonal lineage comprised 21 isolates belonging to A2 mating type and 8 self-fertile isolates. This clonal lineage was identified as Blue_13 or EU_13_A2. The second main clonal lineage comprised 55 isolates and was identified as EU_23_A1. A single isolate with a novel SSR genotype that formed a distinct genetic grouping was also identified. The effector sequencing showed good correspondence with the virulence data and highlighted differences in the presence and absence of loci as well as nucleotide polymorphism that affect gene function. This study indicated a changing population of P. infestans in Egypt and discusses the findings in the context of late blight management.

For controlling B. cinerea using plant extracts in vitro, all tested plant extractsconcentrations were effective in inhibiting fungal growth in all experimental trials inpetri dishes. Galls and Cinnamon extracts were more effective in inhibiting B. cinereagrowth than the other plant extracts. in vivo experiments, all plant extracts withdifferent concentrations which applied as dipping treatment decreased diseaseseverity % (DS %) on wounded and unwounded strawberry fruits which inoculatedwith B. cinerea when compared with control treatment. the tested concentrations ofGalls, Clove and cinnamon extracts were generally more effective than otherextracts in controlling strawberry fruit rot infection. There were no significantdifferences between the four strawberry cultivars in disease index on the same levelof each plant extract concentration. In general, application with Galls and Cloveextracts on strawberry fruits either by spraying or dipping was effective in decreasingDS % when compared with control of wounded or un-wounded fruits. Controlling B.cinerea using Trichoderma spp. in vitro, T. harzianum (isolate 1), T. hamatum(isolate 1) and T. hamatum (isolate 2) were the most effective bio-agents in reducingthe fungal growth. With regard to controlling strawberry fruit rot infection usingTrichoderma spp. culture filtrates and fungicides in vivo, spraying the wounded andun-wounded strawberry fruits in or with three sterilized culture filtrates of threeTrichoderma isolates pre-inoculation with B. cinerea decreased the strawberry fruitrot infection on the four-tested strawberry cultivars.

Root rot disease of strawberry caused by Rhizoctinia spp.is a common diseasein commercial fields in Egypt.This study was conducted to identify the pathogen.Testing four strawberry cultivars for their susceptibility toRhizoctonia root rot diseaseand test the efficiency of (bio-control agents, soil mulch, antioxidant, chemicalinducer and fungicides) to control the disease. The obtained data showed that alltested antagonistic and mulching soil significantly reduces root rot and increased fruityield. The severity of infection was reduced when different antioxidant andchemicalinducer were applied to the soil compared with the untreated soil. The combinationbetween black mulch and fungicides was the best treatment compared to the othertreatments. Integrated control significantly decreased the percentage of infectedplants using (Black mulch+ Boscalid+ Trihoderma hamatum + Salisylic acid)followed by (Boscalid+ Black mulch) was the most effective treatment incontrollingRhizoctonia root rot disease on cv. Sana strawberry plants.