Natural Products as Fungicide and Their Role in Crop Protection

Abstract

Seeking solutions from nature for solving one and all problems is the age-old practice for mankind, and natural products are proved to be the most effective one for keeping up the balance of development as well as the "healthy, wealthy, and well" condition of mother nature. Fungal pathogens are proved to be a common and popular contaminant of agroecosystem that approximately causes 70-80% of total microbial crop loss. To meet the proper global increasing need of food products as a result of population explosion, managing agricultural system in an eco-friendly and profitable manner is the prime target; thus the word "sustainable agriculture" plays it part, and this package is highly effective when coupled with nature-derived fungicidal products that can minimize the event of fungal infections in agrarian ecosystem. Present study enlists the most common and effective natural products that might be of plant or microbial origin, their mode of action, day-by-day development of phytopathogenic resistance against the prevailing fungicides, and also their role in maintenance of sustainability of agricultural practices with special emphasis on their acceptance over the synthetic or chemical one. A large number of bioactive compounds ranging from direct plant (both cryptogams algae and moss and phanerogams)-derived natural extracts, essential oil of aromatic plants, and low-molecular-weight antimicrobial compounds known as phytoalexins to secondary metabolites that are both volatile and nonvolatile organic compounds of microbes (fungal and actinobacterial members) residing inside the host tissue, called endophyte, are widely used as agricultural bioweapons. The rhizospheric partners of plant, mycorrhizae, are also a prime agent of this chemical warfare and protect their green partners from fungal invaders and emphasize the concept of "sustainable agriculture." 132

An Overview of Coumarin as a Versatile and Readily Accessible Scaffold with Broad-Ranging Biological Activities

“…Coumarins exhibit several pharmacological effects including anticoagulant, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, neuroprotective, antidiabetic, anticonvulsant and antiproliferative [8]. Their importance is also clear in the food industry where their fungicide and antioxidant activities are investigated and exploited [9,10]. Moreover, some natural benzocoumarins show anti-algal activity [11].…”

Lipid-Based Natural Food Extracts for Effective Control of Botrytis Bunch Rot and Powdery Mildew on Field-Grown Winegrapes in New Zealand

“…The use of a plethora of naturally sourced products for plant disease control has been practised since ancient times and is often utilised by native peoples [17]. There is an abundance of global research on the use NPs under controlled laboratory conditions [17], but relatively fewer products have been developed for commercial use in variable field situations [15], often because of inadequate field research, problems associated with inconsistent efficacy, undesirable side effects such as growth of unwanted organisms, or difficulties with formulation [25].…”

“…The use of a plethora of naturally sourced products for plant disease control has been practised since ancient times and is often utilised by native peoples [17]. There is an abundance of global research on the use NPs under controlled laboratory conditions [17], but relatively fewer products have been developed for commercial use in variable field situations [15], often because of inadequate field research, problems associated with inconsistent efficacy, undesirable side effects such as growth of unwanted organisms, or difficulties with formulation [25]. Some of the most successful and widely used NPs that are commercially available include: sulphur, which remains the mainstay of powdery mildew control [26]; harpin proteins, which elicit plant defences [14]; chitosan, which is both an elicitor and directly antifungal [16]; giant knotweed extract (Regalia ® ) which is effective against PM [18]; seaweeds, although seaweed extracts are often used for growth enhancement rather than for disease control, per se [27].…”

“…Natural products (NP) for bioprotection have been used around the world as effective alternatives to traditional synthetic pesticides because they offer the advantages of being more environmentally benign and more acceptable for human health [14][15][16][17][18]. The New Zealand Institute for Plant and Food Research Limited (PFR) have developed two biofungicides for the control of PM and Botrytis.…”

Antifungal effect of plants extracts against Pestalotiopsis microspora responsible for post-harvest rot disease of pineapple (Ananas comosus (L.) Merr) fruit in Cameroon

“…Fungal pathogens are proven to be a common and popular contaminant of agroecosystem that approximately causes 70 to 80% of total microbial crop loss (Santra and Banerjee, 2020). Pestalotiopsis microspora is one of the most commonly isolated endophytes (Li et al, 2001).…”