No abstract

Antifungal activity of plant extracts and essential oils of six different plant species was tested against three pathogenic fungi, viz., Alternaria alternata, Colletotrichum gloeosporioides and Fusarium moniliforme isolated from Jatropha curcas L. using Poison Food Technique. All the samples tested were found effective in-vitro. More than 60% inhibition of growth of individual fungal species was observed at 100 ppm. Maximum inhibition was observed at concentration of 1000 ppm. However, among the essential oils tested Cinnamomum impressinervium exhibited the strongest activity (80%) in the case of Colletotrichum gloeosporioides and Alternaria alternate and 78.6% in the case of Fusarium oxysporum at concentration of 1000 ppm followed by Cinnamomum tamala, Cymbopogon jwarancusa and Cymbopogon citratus respectively. Among the plant extracts tested, Catharanthus roseus exhibited stronger activity in comparison to Tithonia diversifolia. Inhibition percentage of all the essential oils and plant extracts increased with the increase in concentration.

Post-infectional changes in sugars, ascorbic acid, protein, phenols, chlorophyll and carotene of two Cymbopogons viz., Cymbopogon martinii and Cymbopogon citratus due to leaf rust caused by Puccinia nakanishikii (Diet) were investigated. All the biochemical constituents decreased in plants infected by the fungal pathogen.