Survey of Leaf Fungal Disease on Urban Tree at Taman Putra Perdana, Putrajaya, Malaysia

Abstract

Background and Objective: Putrajaya serving as an important administration centre of Malaysia is a local attraction owing to its greenness and a number of recreational parks. Nevertheless, in comparison to roadside trees, there is little or no survey has been carried out on the health status of the tree in these urban parks. Therefore, present study was aimed at a survey on the tree that was infected by leaf fungal disease was conducted in Taman Putra Perdana, Putrajaya to obtain a clear picture of the tree’s health status in the area. Materials and Methods: The infected leaves of the trees were collected. The fungi that attacked the tree were cultivated in potato dextrose agar (PDA) and agar bacteriological prior for identification. Results: From the result obtained, there were 14 tree species at Taman Putra Perdana, Putrajaya were found infected by leaf fungal diseases. Identification of fungi was focused on the 4 tree species with the highest frequencies of infestation. Three fungi species, Alternaria sp., Fusarium sp. and Penicillium sp., were found on the infested leaves of Michelia alba, Lagerstroemia speciosa, Shorea multiflora and Hopea odorata. Conclusion: Trees at Taman Putra Perdana was suffered from different extent of infestation by a variety of fungi. This study could be useful to site manager responsible for managing the urban trees and preventing severe urban trees loss due to leaf fungus infectious disease.