Palms are monocots, Angiosperms, belonging to the family Palmae (Arecaceae), perennials having woody stems. Palmae (Arecaceae) family comprised of about six subfamilies, 200 genera and 2,700 species that are distributed all over the tropical, subtropical and Mediterranean landscape. Palms are diverse (ecologically and morphologically) group of plants. Ornamental palms are important component of landscape as well as interiorscapes. Additionally, these plants are good source of food, feed and shelter with numerous other commercial benefits. Likewise other trees and crops, landscape and field nurseries of palms are also subjected to various threats of insect pest and diseases (caused by different plant pathogens). Amongst fungal diseases leaf spots, leaf blights, Fusarium wilts, butt rots, bud rots, root rots, lethal yellowing and decline of palms are major growth constraints of palm growth. In developing countries very little attention has been paid on the etiology and management of these fungal diseases on ornamental palms. Accurate diagnosis and reliable management plan of palm fungal diseases usually requires expertise in both modern and advanced plant pathological approaches.

Historically it was general belief that plant pathogens are not associated with human diseases. Since 19th century, several clinical reports are available indicating many plant pathogenic fungi (Aspergillus spp., Penicillium spp., Alternaria spp., Trichoderma spp., Fusarium spp., Curvularia spp. and Colletotrichum Spp) as novel agents of human diseases. Besides the association of fungal plant pathogens infecting ornamental palms, harbouring any of earlier mentioned or other fungal species (capable of causing certain diseases in human beings or pets) by the ornamental palms cultivation (either grown indoor or outdoor) is an important area of research to be explored and addressed thoroughly. 

This book will provide the deep information regarding major fungal diseases of ornamental palms, their symptoms, disease identification, and etiology and management strategies. This book will also provide unique knowledge regarding the ornamental palms harbouring kinds of human fungal pathogens and their practical management at domestic and commercial scale, in order to make cultivation of these plant more beneficial for humans, animals and environment.

Part 1. Biology and Horticultural aspects of Ornamental Palms

1. Ornamental Horticulture: Economic importance, Current Scenario and Future Prospects (Iftikhar Ahmad, Hafiz Atta-Ur-Rehman and Muhammad Abdul Salam Khan)
2. Ornamental Palms: Molecular taxonomy, Ecology and Distribution (Siddra Ijaz and Maria Babar)
3. Cultivation and Growth constraints of Ornamental Palms (Muhammad Azam, Rashad Qadri, Muhammad Tahir Akram, Shaghef Ejaz)
Part 2. Economically Important Fungal Diseases of Ornamental Palms and their Management strategies)
4. Fungal diseases of ornamental Palms: Etiology, pathogenesis and management (Imran Ul Haq, Qaiser Shakeel, Guoqing Li, Long Yang and Ifrah Rashid)
5. Fungal diseases of Foxtail palm (Wodyetia bifurcate) (Rana M. Sabir Tariq, Saleem Shahzad and Abdul Qayoom Rajput)
6. Fungal diseases of Cat palm (Chemaeodrea cataractarum), Bamboo palm (Chemaedorea seifrizii) and Cluster palm (Chamaedorea costaricana) (Qaiser Shakeel, Mingde Wu, Jing Zhangand Zia-ul-haq)
7. Fungal diseases of Washingtonia palm (Washingtonia robusta) (Iqra, Nabeeha Aslam Khan, Muhammad Zunair Latif and Yasir Iftikhar)
8. Fungal diseases of Golden palm (Dypsis lutescens) (Muhammad Taimoor Shakeel, N.I. Katis, Muhammad Mohsin Alam, Rashida Atiq and Qaiser Shakeel)
9. Fungal diseases of Bismarckia palm (Bismarckia nobilis) (Rana M. Sabir Tariq, Saboohi Raza and Tanveer Ahmad)
10. Fungal diseases of Date palm (Phoenix dactylifera) and Pigmy date palm (Phoenix roebelenii) (Imran Ul Haq and Nabeeha Aslam Khan)
11. Fungal diseases of Alexandra palm (Archontophoenix alexandrae) and Queen palm (Syagrus romanzoffiana) (Adnan Ahmad, Muhammad Raheel, Qaiser Shakeel, Anjum Faraz and Khalid Pervaiz Akhtar)
12. Fungal diseases of Ravenea palm (Ravenea hildebrandtii) (M. Zunair Latif)
13. Fungal diseases of Royal palm (Roystonea regia) (Rabia Tahir Bajwa, Qaiser Shakeel, Muhammad Raheel and Ifrah Rashid)
14. Fungal diseases of Lady palm (Rhapis excelsa)and Fishtail palm (Caryota mitis) (Muhammad Kaleem Sarwar, Rashda Naheed, Siddra Ijaz and Imran Ul Haq)
Par 3. Fungal Diseases of False Palm)
15. Fungal diseases of Traveler's palm (Ravenala madagascariensis) (Rana M. Sabir Tariq and Tanveer Ahmad)
16. Fungal diseases of Kangi palm (Cycas revoluta) (Anjum Faraz, Muhammad Zunair Latif and Owais Yaseen).