IN VITRO INHIBITION OF FUNGAL PLANT PATHOGENS BY DIFFERENT CONCENTRATIONS OF MEDICINAL PLANTS EXTRACTS

ABSTRACT In order to evaluate the in vitro effect of different concentrations of plant extracts on the growth of Cercospora kikuchii. Fusarium solani. Colletotrichum sp. and Phomopsis sp., 4 bioassays experiments were conducted at the Plant Pathology Laboratory of the Federal University of Grande Dourados, Brazil. The experimental design was a completely randomized design in a 3 x 6 factorial arrangement, with 8 replicates for each bioassay. Aqueous extracts of garlic, cinnamon and clove were evaluated in concentrations of 0, 0.5, 1, 5, 10 and 20%. Extracts were obtained through maceration of 30 g of plant material in 120 mL of distilled water. The extracts were filtered in grade-1 Whatman paper and incorporated into PDA medium to obtain the desired concentrations. Subsequently, the solution was poured into Petri dishes, and then 3 mm-diameter-PDA plugs with pathogen mycelium were transferred to the center of the PDA + plant extract Petri dish. Plates were incubated at 25° C with a 12-h-day photoperiod. Fungal growth was performed daily by measuring the colony diameter. The results showed that the effect of aqueous extract of cinnamon for all pathogens studied, and garlic extract for F. solani. Colletotrichum sp. and Phomopsis sp., was dependent on the concentrations used, noting a higher antifungal activity with increased concentrations used. Clove extract presented the greatest effectiveness for the control of the plant pathogens tested, with observed suppression on the growth of Colletotrichum sp. C. kikuchii. F. solani and Phomopsis sp. at the concentrations 7.4, 7.5, 8.9 and 7.0%, respectively. The aqueous extract of garlic at a concentration of 9.7% presented effective control only for C. kikuchii.