On Saturday 26.10.2024, the lecturer of the Department of Forestry at CAES Mrs. Jivan Myaser Mohammed defended her PhD Dissertation under the topic: Microbiological Properties, Phylogenetic Analysis and Control of Olive Knot caused by Pseudomonas savastanoi pv. savastanoi.

The lecturer stated ‘The olive tree (Olea europea L.) is a perennial, evergreen tree that belongs to the Olea genus with 35 to 40 species that can live and produce olives for more than a century. Olive is considered a typical fruit where 98% of the world is produced in Mediterranean Europe, Asia, and Africa. The tree serves as a main source of olive oil and edible fruit products produced, since olive plays a very important role in utilizing unsuitable land, protecting the soil from erosion, and using olives pomace for industries. The most serious disease attacking olive trees is knot disease caused by a bacterium known as Pseudomonas savastanoi pv. savastanoi. Given expanding olive pressing in our region to get oil and its benefits to humans and ecology. The researcher found it necessary to make modernized scanning for disease occurrence and severity in the Duhok and Ninevah provinces that affect the olive tree and methods for identification and management.’

The project was supervised by Prof. Dr. Wazeer A. Hassan and Prof. Dr. Farida F. Nerweyi. The discussion resulted in awarding the presenter with the doctoral title!