Antifungal activity of fungicides and plant extracts against yellow sigatoka disease causing Mycosphaerella musicola

Mycosphaerella musicola causes yellow sigatoka disease in banana plantations, and affects overall yield and quality of the fruit. Synthetic fungicides are used to control disease. An integrated approach by using plant based extracts and synthetic fungicides can control the disease efficiently by reducing the usage of fungicides. In vitro studies were carried out to test methanolic extracts of ten plants belonging to seven different families having previous reports on antimicrobial activity against Mycosphaerella musicola, methanolic extracts of two plants showed significant antifungal activity as well as significant inhibition of spore germination in spore germination inhibition assay. All eight fungicides exhibited inhibitory action on M. musicola in poison food technique, where as MIC range of each fungicide varied significantly. The results revealed that integrated disease management by using efficient plant extracts and effective fungicides can control the disease and the pathogen in fields efficiently.