Occurrence of crown gall disease on Ficus benjamina in Fars and Isfahan provinces of Iran

Abstract

Ficus benjamina, commonly known as weeping fig, Benjamin’s fig or Ficus tree is a species of flowering plant in the family of Moraceae. It is native to south and south-east Asia and Australia. Crown gall tumours were collected from branches of one-year-old weeping fig (F. benjamina L.) trees. A total of 50 strains of Agrobacterium tumefaciens were isolated from diseased Ficus plants and their morphological, molecular and biochemical characteristics were studied; pathogenicity tests on tomato, F. benjamina and Bryophyllum daigremontianum were also conducted. Based on the biochemical characteristics, pathogenicity test and PCR amplification of 730 bp fragment using VCR\\VCF primers, the tested bacterial strains were identified as A. tumefaciens. This is the first report of crown gall on F. benjamina in Isfahan and Fars provinces of Iran.