Effects of crude resin extracts from Juniperus procera of different health and d.b.h status against a juniper pocket rot fungus, Pyrofomes demidoffii under in vitro conditions

Abstract

Investigation of the in vitro activity of crude resin extracts of Juniperus procera against mycelial growth of isolates of P. demidoffii was made. The mycelia growth (MG) and relative mycelial growth (RMG) of the isolates of P. demidoffii were evaluated under in vitro conditions using food poisoned technique in methanol or acetone extracted crude resin of juniper trees of different d.b.h and healthy status. The crude resin extracts from juniper trees of smaller d.b.h categories, healthy trees, extracted by methanol and at higher concentration exhibited a significantly lower MG and RMG of P. demidoffii (p < 0.0001). With an increase in days of incubation of the isolates in crude resin extracts, there was also a significant increase in MG and RMG of the isolates (p < 0.0001). The findings of our study could be used as the baseline for further study on defense responses of Juniperus spp. against P. demidoffii.

Keywords:

• Crude resin extracts
• d.b.h
• juniper health status
• in vitro activity
• Juniperus procera
• P. demidoffii

Disclosure statement

This is to acknowledge any financial interest or benefit that has arisen from the direct applications of your research. The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Acknowledgments

The Department of Forest Mycology and Plant Pathology, SLU, Uppsala is highly acknowledged for facilitating the undertaking of in vitro studies. I am also grateful to Prof. Timothy Baroni ([email protected]), a distinguished Professor of Mycology, State University of NewYork and to Dr. Belachew Gizachew ([email protected]), a researcher at Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy, for their English editing and professional expertise in revising this manuscript. The authors have no conflict of interest. I sincerely appreciate the Dr. Dawit Abate (my PhD supervisor and mycologist) for generating the idea of resin-based defense in juniper against P. demidoffii. The authors have no conflict of interest

Additional information

Funding

This work was partly supported by Swedish Institute to the first author (Addisu Assefa).