Extract yield, dilution methods and antifungal potential of fruits of Picralima nitida (Stapf.) T. A. Durand & H. Durand

Today, despite its status as a key sector, agriculture faces many problems due to fungi and the use of synthetic pesticides. This study evaluated the antifungal potential of Picralima nitida fruits against Fusarium oxysporum. The extracts were obtained by the Total Aqueous Extraction method (TEA) and Hydroethanolic extraction (EE70%) method. Two dilution types of the extracts in PDA medium were tested: (1) dilution before autoclaving (AvA) and (2) dilution after autoclaving (ApA). The extracts of two fruit morphotypes from two climatic zones were tested at a concentration of 3 mg.ml−1. The yield of fruit extracts from Dahomey Gap (DG) was significantly higher (>8%) than that from the Guinea-Congolese region (GC). A significant difference was observed in yield (p < 0.05) between TEA type and the EE70% type with a higher inhibition rate (27%) of EE70% on Fusarium oxysporum. No significant difference was observed between the pathogen inhibition rates in the dilution type (p > 0.05). The inhibition rate of the pathogen was 25.65% for the short fruit morphotype and 25.08% for the large fruit morphotype. This study demonstrated possibility of using extracts of Picralima nitida in agriculture.