Inhibition of Alternaria stem canker on tomato by essential oils from Baccharis species

Abstract

The toxicity of four essential oils extracted from Baccharis articulata, Baccharis ochracea, Baccharis psiadioides and Baccharis trimera was tested against the phytopathogen Alternaria alternata, which causes Alternaria stem canker on tomatoes. Diseases caused by Alternaria fungi are responsible for great economic losses in terms of production and are controlled by synthetic fungicides; however, essential oils offer an alternative, since they have been proven to be effective for controlling against various plant pathogens. In this way, the antifungal activity of Baccharis essential oils was tested using potato dextrose agar medium with concentrations ranging from 0.1 to 20.0 µL mL⁻¹. Baccharis trimera and Baccharis ochracea essential oils presented 100% mycelial growth inhibition of A. alternata and were also able to control Alternaria stem canker disease under greenhouse conditions. Tomato plants treated with these essential oils exhibited area under the disease progress curve (AUDPC) values of 230.10 and 241.42, differing from the control condition, which showed an AUDPC value of 268.92. The essential oils of B. trimera and B. ochracea can be an alternative for controlling Alternaria stem canker disease of tomatoes and should be formulated as a potential fungicide against the A. alternata pathogen.

KEYWORDS:

• Alternaria alternata
• phytopathogen control
• Solanum lycopersicum
• natural products

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank the technician Dr. Fabiana Agostini for her work on the essential oil characterization and the Laboratory of Applied Microbiology for the work on the molecular identification of the fungus.

Additional information

Funding

Funding for this research was provided by the “Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior” (CAPES, Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Level – or Education – Personnel).