In vitro inhibition of plant pathogenic fungi and control of gray mold and soft rot of strawberry by essential oils

Abstract EN

The essential oils of eight plants, Artemisia Judaic a, Achilles santolina, Eucalyptus camaldulensis, E.

citriodora, E.

smithy, Lantana camara, Majorana hortensis and Menthe micro phylla, were obtained by hydro distillation and steam distillation.

The isolated oils were tested for their in vitro antifungal activity against ten phytopathogenic fungi ; Alter aria alternate, Botrytis camera, B.

fabae, Fusarium culmorum, F.

oxysporum, Helminthosporium sp., Penicillium digitatum, Rhizoctonia solani, Rhizopus stolonifer and Sclerotium rolfsii.

Five of the isolated oils were evaluated for the control of postharvest decay in strawberry caused by B.

cinerea and R.

stolonifer.

In an in vitro assay, the oil of M.

micro phylla caused complete growth inhibition of F.

culmorum, F.

oxysporum, P.

digitatum, R.

solani and R.

stolonifer at a concentration of 500 mg / L.

The oils of A.

Judaic a and E.

citriodora also showed complete inhibition of R.

solani at the same concentration.

Comparative antifungal activity revealed that the oil of M.

micro phylla was the most effective, followed by E.

camaldulensis and A.

Judaic a.

When tested for the control of gray mold and soft rot in strawberry, the essential oils exhibited a strong reduction of disease incidences.

The oils of E.

camaldulensis, A.

Judaic a and A.

semolina were the most effective in the control of both gray mold and soft rot diseases.

To correlate the antifungal activities with chemical compositions of the isolated oils, GC-MS analysis of the tested oils was conducted.

The dominant components of the oils consisted of four main groups of oxygenated monoterpenes, monoterpene hydrocarbons, sesquiterpene hydrocarbons and oxygenated sesquiterpenes.

The remarkable in vitro and in vivo antifungal activity of the oils of E.

camaldulensis, A.

Judaic a and A.

santolina reported in this study indicated that these oils may provide an alternative mean for controlling postharvest pathogens.