Phyllosphere and Phylloplane Fungi of Banana Cultivated in Upper Egypt and their Cellulolytic Ability

Seventy-three species and five varieties belonging to 36 genera were collected from leaf surfaces of banana plants on glucose and cellulose-Czapek’s agar at 28°C. The results obtained from leaf surfaces (phyllosphere and phylloplane) were basically similar on the two types of media and the most common fungi were Alternaria, Aspergillus, Chaetomium, Cladosporium, Cochliobolus, Curvularia, Giberella, Memnoniella, Mycosphaerella, Setosphaeria and Stachybotrys. The monthly counts of these fungi were irregularly fluctuated giving maxima at various months. Chaetomium globosum was in the top of fungi in producing both exo-and endo-β-1,4-glucanases among the 34 tested isolates obtained from leaves (phylloplane) on cellulose-Czapek’s agar. Maximum production of these enzymes by C. globosum was 6 and 8 days after incubation at 25°C with culture medium containing wheat bran as a carbon source and peptone as a nitrogen source and initially adjusted to pH 6.