Background:
Tomato is considered a model plant in genetics and is one of the most
economically important crops of all those that exist in the world. Several species of fungi are
reported on tomato fruit, causing damage both during cultivation and after harvest. Some of the
appropriate actions that could be initiated to resolve the problem are to develop and search for new
antimicrobial substances isolated from the bioactive natural products, such as essential oils.
Aim and Objective:
The aim of this work was to determine the chemical composition of essential
oils of Ammoides verticillata, Allium sativum and Curcuma longa, to evaluate their in-vitro antifungal
activities and in-vivo antifungal effect of essential oils to prevent the diseases caused by tomato.
Materials and Methods:
The essential oils obtained from aerial parts of plants were analyzed by
GC/MS and tested for their antifungal activities against Penicillium expansum, Fusarium solani,
Rhizopus stolonifer and Alternaria alternata using the radial growth technique method. The
effectiveness in-vivo of the association between Allium sativum and Curcuma longa essential oils
was also investigated on tomatoes inoculated by fungi.
Results:
The essential oil from A. verticilata was mainly composed of phenolic compounds
(54.4%), the A. sativum oil was mainly composed of sulfur compounds (91.5%) and C. longa oil
was dominated by oxygenated monoterpenes (82.0%). The obtained results in-vitro antifungal
revealed that individual essential oils of A. verticillata and A. sativum were more active than the
essential oil of C. longa against all screened microorganisms. An important antifungal effect of A.
sativum and C. longa essential oils blend was obtained against P. expansum (100%), F. solani
(95.2%), R. stolonifer (95.1%) and A. alternata (48.5%). Furthermore, A. sativum and C. longa
essential oils blends have demonstrated promising in-vivo antifungal activity to control infection of
tomato against P. expansum and R. stolonifer.
Conclusion:
A. sativum and C. longa essential oil blends can be used as a natural food preservative
and alternative to chemical fungicides to protect stored tomato against many phytopathogens.
Chemical Composition, Liquid and Vapor-phase Antifungal Activities of Essential Oil of Teucrium luteum subsp. flavovirens against Three Postharvest Phytopathogenic Fungi
