Thesis (BS Biology) -- University of the Philippines Mindanao, 2005

Two plant-pathogenic fungi, Pestalotiopsis palmarum and curvularia sp. were isolated from leafspot-infected sago seedlings kept in the nursery of the UP in Mindanao campus in Bago Oshiro, Davao City. P. palmarumin Potato Dextrose Agar (PDA) medium appeared as a white cottony mycelial mass with black circular fruiting bodies dispersed randomly on it. The spores measured an average of 21.17 (2.92) long and 6.59 (1.11) wide, with the three median brown cells measuring 13.29 (1.80 long, the basal appendage 3.71 ((1.92) long the apical appendage 14.12 ((5.49) long. Colony growth of Curvularia sp. on PDA was brownish black and velvety in appearance. Its curved spores measured 19.48 (3.43) long and 11.27 (1.73) wide. Conidial germination was fast in both fungi, occurring within 6 hours on soft agar. The two fungi did not show significant differences with P. palmarum and Curvularia sp. isolates obtained from sago palms in the wild (Agusan del Sur) in terms of colony growth in vitro and morphological characterization. It is recommended that the genotypic relatedness of the fungi obtained from the nursery and those from the wild be confirmed by molecular studies