Prof. Dr Tawga Sleman Rashid, Mr Mohammed Jamal, Mr Mohammed Zrar, and Dr Majid Hassan, lecturers at the College of Agricultural Engineering Sciences – Department of Plant Protection, Salahaddin University–Erbil, participated in an international invention competition in Canada entitled The 10th International Invention Innovation Competition in Canada (iCAN 2025), held online on 30 August 2025.
Their research project, titled Innovation Biocontrol Invention for Canker Management, earned the silver medal and second place in the field of agriculture among participants from sixty-two countries.
The same research, under the title
Innovative biological control strategies for managing peach tree canker disease caused by Cytospora leucostoma,
has been published in the international journal Biocatalysis and Agricultural Biotechnology, which carries an impact factor of 3.9.
The study focuses on developing a biological treatment for peach tree canker disease in Iraq, identifying an effective and environmentally friendly control strategy.
This innovative research introduces a new biological approach for managing canker disease caused by the fungal pathogen Cytospora leucostoma, which results in significant economic losses.
The researchers employed three beneficial microorganisms (two bacteria and one fungus), along with an extract from the Thuja plant.
Laboratory and field experiments conducted in orchards in Gwer, near Erbil, demonstrated that the combination of these microorganisms achieved complete (100%) inhibition of the fungus’s growth.
Notably, in field trials, the infected trees treated with the biological mixture showed full recovery (100%) of the affected areas.
These results confirm that biological control represents a sustainable and eco-friendly solution, providing an effective alternative to harmful chemical fungicides in the protection of orchards and forests.
