Positive modulation of innate immune response in phoenix dactylifera and control of fusarium wilt pathogen, fusarium oxysporum, by copper-chitosan nanocomposition / Mohamed Elwy Abdelhamed Abdelmonaem ; Supervised Mohamed H. Gaber , Sherif F. Elsharabasy

Thesis (M.Sc.) - Cairo University - Faculty of Science - Department of Biophysics

Date palm, Phoenix dactylifera, as one of the most important fruit crops in Egypt and many other countries, can be affected by many fungal diseases, among which the vascular wilt disease, caused by the fungal pathogen Fusarium oxysporum, is considered the most deteriorating one. This study aims at evaluating the efficiency of copper-chitosan Nanopcomposition for treating the vascular wilt disease in date palm. The study relies mainly on beleaguering the disease via the double-role functionality of copper-chitosan nanocomposition, i.e. its potential antifungal effect on the fungal pathogen, besides its capability to enhance the immune responses of the infected plant. In this regard, chitosan nanoparticles were prepared according to the ionic gelation method, whereas copper nanoparticles were prepared according to the chemical reduction method. Physicochemical characterization of both chitosan and copper nanoparticles was performed using dynamic light scattering (DLS), Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and X-Ray Diffraction (XRD). Copper-chitosan nanocomposition could significantly reduce the vascular wilt disease severity; this means that the nanocomposition can be used in the future for developing new nano-fungicides to control such pathogens

Issued also as CD