Damping-off Disease of two Pulp and Paper Forest Species (<i>Pinus caribaea</i> Morelet and <i>Pinus oocarpa Schiede</i>) in the Nursery

Abstract

Anexperiment was conducted to assess the effect of four sowing media
(ground granite, sharp river sand, top soil and saw dust) on the incidence of damping-off disease in two pine species, Pinus caribaea and Pinus oocarpa during the wet and dry seasons of 2006/07. The experiment was laid out in a completely randomised design (CRD) replicated three times. A significant effect (P<0.05) was observed as top soil recorded the highest disease incidence in both species. There was no significant effect (P>0.05) between the ground granite and sharp river sand. Saw dust had 0% disease incidence and supported the highest plant height. Fusarium oxysporum was implicated as the causal agent of the disease. There was an inter-seasonal variation inthe disease occurrence in the study area as it was more severe in the rainy season.

Key words: Fusarium oxysporum, Pinus caribaea, Pinus oocarpa, sowing
media, disease incidence