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Date palm (Phoenix dactylifera) is the most important fruit tree in the state of Qatar and is widely planted in rural areas. In urban areas it is a common ornamental and shade plant, grown in parks and gardens and alongside roads. During spring and summer of 2001 and 2002, several date palm trees located in Al Ka'ban area (northern Qatar) showed symptoms typical of false smut disease. The fungus results in subepidermal spots on both sides of the pinnae (leaflets) and on the rachis, with small, black sori developing in abundance on old fronds. Once the spores have disseminated, only the rough black craters of the sori remain. More severe infections and damage were observed in areas of higher humidity, especially in Al Mashrub, located in the northeast coastal strip. Severe infection reduces tree growth and date production through premature death of leaves. The sori were 1-3 mm in diameter, occurred on both sides of the pinnae and were typically more abundant in the apical regions. These superficially resembled a scale insect or mealy bug infestation, but closer examination revealed the exudation of powdery yellow spores on whitish filaments. Spores were spherical to ellipsoidal, 3-6 μm in diameter and had a thick, smooth hyaline wall. The fungus was identified as Graphiola phoenicis (Djerbi, 1983), commonly known as false smut disease. It is also known as graphiola leaf spot and palm leaf pustule. Disease attacks were most common on 7- to 10-year-old palm trees and most evident on the older fronds. The disease has now spread to date palm groves throughout the country, but more quickly where trees are planted at higher densities (4-5 m spacing). False smut disease is now affecting individual date palm trees in the north, central and south areas of Qatar. False smut disease has previously been recorded on P. dactylifera in India, Egypt and Brazil (CAB International, 2003), Libya (Edongali, 1996) and Kenya (Kung'u & Boa, 1997). This is the first report of Graphiola phoenicis occurring on date palm trees in Qatar.

In the spring of 2001, diseased trees of Juglans regia in Hatay, in the Mediterranean region of Turkey, showed typical symptoms of downy leaf spot, especially following moist and cool conditions. A survey was conducted in the affected regions, which included 12 orchards in Antakya and five orchards in Altinozu districts. Disease prevalences (percentage of fields with plants showing foliar symptoms) in these locations was 83 and 60%, respectively. Disease incidence (percentage of plants with foliar symptoms) ranged from 69 to 87% (of between 15 and 36 samples per location). Initially, disease symptoms were characterized by a whitish efflorescence containing fungal structures and spores on the lower surface of the affected leaf, often concentrated along the veins, and a yellowish discoloration on the corresponding upper surface of the leaf. In the later stages of disease development, as the leaf spots enlarged, diseased tissues became necrotic. Sometimes the leaves of infected walnut trees were abnormal and trees became defoliated. Examination of leaf infections using scanning electron microscopy revealed that whitish polygonal efflorescences were basidial structures forming oval basidiospores (6·2–7·8 × 2·9–3·4 μ m). The fungus was identified as Microstroma juglandis , a member of the Exobasidiales, based on morphological and cultural characteristics of the basidium and basidial structures. Isolations on potato dextrose agar using small pieces of surface-sterilized leaf tissue yielded white or creamcoloured, mucoid and yeast-like colonies (Garcia-Jimenez et al ., 1995). Colonies consisted of ellipsoidal to ovoid or clavate cells that reproduced by unipolar budding (von Arx et al ., 1982). Pathogenicity tests were performed on leaves of walnut seedlings by spraying with a spore suspension (approximately 1 × 10 7 conidia mL − 1 ) and covering the plants with polyethylene bags for 3 days at 25 ± 2 ° C and 75–80% relative humidity. Control plants were treated with sterile distilled water. Symptoms identical to those observed in walnut orchards became visible 21–24 days after inoculation. However, lesion development was mild because of the excessively warm conditions (30 ± 2 ° C). In eastern Spain, downy leaf spot on walnuts was previously reported from the province of Valencia (GarciaJimenez et al ., 1995). This is the first report of downy leaf spot on walnuts caused by Microstroma juglandis from Turkey. The disease is generally not considered economically important. However, the impact of downy leaf spot in the eastern Mediterranean region of Turkey in 2001 was significant and caused serious concern to walnut growers. The survey indicates that downy leaf spot may be emerging as a new problem for the walnut growers in Hatay and other areas of Turkey.