Effect of some Aqueous Plant Extracts on Controlling Orange, Green Mold Disease and Quality of “Washington” Navel Orange

Abstract

This work was carried out under laboratory conditions at Agricultural Botany and Food Science and Technology Departments, Faculty of Agriculture, Menofiya University Shibin el Kom, Egypt to study the aqueous extracts effect of four plants, i.e., Carnation (Dianthus caryophyllus, Chili pepper (Capsicum annum), Cinnamon (Cinnamomum verum) and Lemongrass (Cymbopogon citratus) at three concentrations (2.5%, 5%, and 10 %) on green mold disease caused by Penicillium digitatum and the fruit quality of “Washington” Navel orange. Some fruit characteristic i.e., vitamin C, firmness, T.S.S and total acidity were estimated. All treatments significantly reduced the fungal linear growth, disease incidence, and disease severity of the disease and increased the chemical characters of fruits, i.e., Total acidity (TA), vitamin C (Vit. C), and soluble solids content (SSC) compared with the control. Carnation extracts (5 and10 %) and chili pepper (10 %) extract were the best treatments, while the lowest effect was observed by lemongrass (2.5 %) concentration.