Chemical Control of Leaf Spot of Date Palm (Phoenix dactylifera) in Sultanate of Oman

Date palm (Phoenix dactylifera) is an important fruit and cash crop in Sultanate of Oman, occupying nearly 60% of the total cultivated area. However, leaf spots caused by Mycosphaerella tassiana, Alternaria spp., and Dreshcleri sp. have become a threat to date palm's cultivation in recent years. In this study, a field experiment was conducted to find out a suitable chemical spray program to control the disease. A prophylactic spray schedule with mancozeb (Dithane M45), copper oxychloride (Champion), and mancozeb+copper (Trimiltox) effectively controlled the disease when applied at a time when the disease severity index (DSI) was low, ranging from 0 to 1.68. Meanwhile, the disease did not decrease, but instead increased gradually, when the fungicide combination was applied when DSI was high, ranging from 1.78 to 5.37. It was concluded that fungicides should be applied at the early stage or before disease initiation in order to control the disease effectively.