ANTIFUNGAL ACTIVITY OF AQUEOUS STEM EXTRACT OF CYNANCHUM ACIDUM (ROXB.)OKEN. AGAINST ASPERGILLUS AND FUSARIUM SPECIES ASSOCIATED WITH MAIZE

The antifungal efficacy of the aqueous extract prepared from the stem of Cynanchum acidum (Roxb.) Oken. was evaluated in vitro against eight fungal pathogens associated with maize, namely Aspergillus flavus, A. niger, A. candidus, A. flavipes, Fusarium oxysporum, F. solani, F. moniliforme, and F. graminearum. The extract was tested at concentrations of 10%, 20%, 30%, 40%, and 50%. The results revealed a concentration-dependent inhibition of fungal growth, with the maximum antifungal activity observed at 50% concentration. At this level, the extract exhibited the highest mycelial growth inhibition against A. flavus (100%), followed by F. oxysporum (90.2%), F. solani (89.5%), F. moniliforme (87.7%), A. candidus (78.9%), A. niger (78.0%), A. flavipes (73.2%), and F. graminearum (52.1%). Moderate inhibitory effects were recorded at 20–40% concentrations, whereas the least inhibition was observed at 10%. In comparison, the standard synthetic fungicides Bavistin and Thiram demonstrated complete (100%) inhibition of all test fungi. These findings indicate that the aqueous stem extract of C. acidum possesses significant antifungal potential, particularly at higher concentrations, and may serve as a promising natural alternative to synthetic fungicides in the management of maize-associated fungal pathogens.