Evaluates antifungal efficacy of plant extracts in sugarcane, indicating potential eco-friendly alternatives to fungicides.
Sugarcane is an important commercial crop that is affected by several fungal pathogens, including Curvularia lunata, which causes seedling blight and leaf spot diseases. This study evaluated the antifungal efficacy of aqueous leaf extracts from 21 plant species collected from the Western Ghats region of Tamil Nadu, India. The extracts were screened for phytochemical constituents and tested against Curvularia lunata using disc diffusion and spore germination assays. Seven plant extracts showed significant antifungal activity, with Ficus bengalensis, Pongamia glabra, Cynodon dactylon, Syzygium cumini, Andrographis paniculata, Aerva lanata, and Ocimum basilicum demonstrating strong inhibition. Among these, Ficus bengalensis, Cynodon dactylon, and Syzygium cumini exhibited specific activity against the pathogen. Further characterization using UV-Vis, FTIR, and GC-MS analyses revealed the presence of bioactive phytochemicals with potential antimicrobial properties. The findings suggest that these plant extracts may serve as eco-friendly alternatives to synthetic fungicides for the management of sugarcane diseases.
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Nandhini et al. (2015) studied this question.
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