Bioefficacy of Essencial Oils and Plant Oils for the Management of Banana Anthracnose-A Major Post-harvest Disease

Abstract

Antifungal activity of essential oils needs to be appreciated in the management of plant diseases for their biodegradable, economical and ecofriendly nature. Anthracnose of banana is caused by Colletotrichum musae and is one of the most serious diseases of ripe banana. Present investigation was carried out during 2016 in department of plant pathology, UAS, Dharwad aimed on ecofriendly management of banana anthracnose by essential oils in vitro as well as in vivo. Out of five oils evaluated in vitro against C. musae, complete inhibition of mycelial growth was reported in vitro with clove oil at all the concentrations tested (0.5, 1.0 and 2.0 %) and eucalyptus oil at 2.0 per cent concentration. However, the most effective postharvest dip treatments in vivo were lemongrass oil at 2.0 and 1.0 per cent and neem oil at 2.0 per cent eucalyptus, neem oil at 2.0 per cent and neem oil at 1.0 per cent concentration. We conclude this study revealing that lemongrass oil even at 1.0% concentration found most effective postharvest treatment for against antracnose without phytotoxicity effect on fruits.