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Antifungal effect of essential oils on in vitro growth of pathogenic fungi

UZMA SITARA, ISHRAT NIAZ, JAWED NASEEM AND NASREEN SULTANA

Abstract: Essential oils extracted from the seeds of neem (Azadirachta indica), mustard (Brassica campestris), black cumin (Nigella sativa) and asafoetida (Ferula assafoetida) were evaluated for their antifungal activity @ 0.5, 0.1 and 0.15% against eight seed borne fungi viz., Aspergillus niger, A. flavus, Fusarium oxysporum, F. moniliforme, F. nivale, F. semitectum, Drechslera hawiinesis and Alternaria alternata. Ridomyl gold (MZ 68%WP) was used for comparison. All the oils extracted except mustard, showed fungicidal activity of varying degree against test species. Of these oils, Asafoetida oil @ 0.1% and 0.15% significantly inhibited the growth of all test fungi except A. flavus and Nigella sativa oil @ 0.15 was also effective but showed little fungicidal activity against A. niger followed by neem, Ridomyl gold and mustard oils.
 

Pesticide Research Institute, Southern-Zone Agricultural Research Centre, Pakistan Agricultural Research Council, Karachi-75270, Pakistan.