This study was conducted during the season of 2017-2018 to estimate the changes that might occur in leaves covered with sooty mold in the Omer Al-Mukhtar University periphery, El-Beida, Libya. The results indicated that the disease caused significant reduction in the leaf’s area from 158, 28.8 and 10cm2 in healthy leaves to 126.5, 23 and 7.5cm2 in infected leaves of fig, oleander and olive trees respectively. Also, water content decreased by (52.8%, 51.9% and 43.6%) in infected leaves compared with the healthy ones. Considering the effects on chlorophyll and phenols contents, data showed that sooty mold significantly influenced chl a , chl b and phenols contents. The reduction in chlorophyll content was accompanied by an increase in phenol content of infected leaves when compared with the healthy ones. Based on these results, it was concluded that sooty mold growth on tree leaves could affect morphology, physiology and subsequently the production of plants.
Sooty mold, Alternaria alternata, water content, leaf area. chlorophyll, phenols, Libya
