Aromatic plants are among the most important sources of biologically active secondary metabolites, with high antimicrobal potential. This study was carried out to examine in vitro antifungal activity of Foeniculum vulgare (Apiaceae), Carum carvi (Apiaceae) and Eucalyptus sp.(Myrtaceae) essential oils against three Candida albicans strains of different origin (laboratory-CAL, human pulmonary-CAH and ATCC10231-CAR). The essential oils were screened on C. albicans using disc and well-diffusion and microdilution method, and compared to Nystatine and Fluconazole as standard anti-mycotics. The activity of tested oils was expressed by inhibition zone diameter (mm), minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum fungicidal concentration (MFC) (mg/ml). The results indicated that studied essential oils show antifungal activity against all three isolates of C. albicans. It was observed that each oil exhibits different degree of antifungal activity depending on the oil concentration applied as well as on analyzed strain of C. albicans. Carum carvi demonstrated the strongest antifungal effect to all tested strains, showing the lowest MIC values (0.03mg/ml for CAL, 0.06mg/ml for CAH, and 0.11mg/ml for CAR, respectively). Eucalyptus sp. exhibited the lowest antifungal activity, with MIC values ranging from 0.11 mg/ml for CAL to 0.45 mg/ml for both CAH and CAR. [Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br. 172058

SUMMARYTrichoderma species have been registered as species with important plant growth promoting potential and antagonistic effect against various phytopathogens. Trichoderma isolates originating from different soil types from the Vojvodina region (Serbia) were screened using dual culture test for their antagonistic effect against the pathogen Sclerotinia sclerotiorum. All tested isolates had high radial growth inhibition (RGI) factors of the pathogen and high colonization percentage. Growth promoting activity of Trichoderma isolates on soybean seeds was tested under glasshouse conditions. Soybean seeds were coated with suspensions of different Trichoderma isolates and seed germination percentage, root and shoot length were measured. According to data analysed in Statistica 10, using Duncan's test, there were no significant effects on shoot length among the tested isolates, compared to the control. The four tested Trichoderma isolates showed significant positive effects on germination, root length and vigour index, while two isolates exhibited no significant effect on any of the measured parameters.