Antifungal potential of the spices and medicinal plant extracts on the fungal growth of Fusarium oxysporum

Soil-borne plant pathogen is one of the most threatening and destructive diseases infecting various vegetable crops worldwide. Among the several diseases, Fusarium wilt causes heavy losses in the tomato-growing regions of the world. A study was undertaken to manage wilt diseases using plant products. The infected samples were collected from wilt-infected tomato plants and Fusarium isolates were found to be virulent. Based on morphological and molecular studies the virulent isolates were identified as Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici. Antifungal screening of plant extract was tested against the fungal growth of the pathogen by Agar well diffusion. Among the plant samples tested, the neem extract recorded the maximum inhibitory effect (75.61 percent) on the mycelial growth of F. oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici. The extract of onion exhibited 50.65 percent inhibition of the mycelial growth of the pathogen. Conclusively, the neem extract could be explored for managing wilt disease in vegetable crops as it possesses antifungal activity against the growth of the pathogen.