In vitro antifungal activity of some plant extracts against Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici

Fusarium oxysporum f. sp lycopersici is an important disease that causes wilt disease in tomato crop world over. Management through chemical fungicides cause serious environmental problems and are toxic to non-target organisms as well. Plant metabolites and plant based pesticides appear to be one of the better alternatives as they are known to have minimal environmental impact and danger to consumers in contrast to synthetic pesticides. In an approach towards the development of eco-friendly management, in vitro antifungal assay was conducted against Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici (FOL), using plant extracts of fifteen plants. Out of fifteen plants, three plants proved to be potential in inhibiting the growth of the FOL viz., Solanum indicum (78.33%), Azadirachta indica (75.00%), Oxalis latifolia (70.33%). Antifungal potency was compared with three chemical fungicides namely via (Mancozeb with 82.66%, Copper oxychloride 79.33% and Copper sulphate 82.33%) in different concentration. The poison food technique was employed for the evaluation of antifungal activity of the extracts at four different concentrations (10%, 20%, 40% and 60%) on mycelial growth of FOL. This study indicates that the botanical extracts could be a good alternative in developing a potent plant based fungicides which can be used in organic farming for the management of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici.

Author(s): Anil Kumar Ramaiah and Raj Kumar H. Garampalli*

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