Antifungal Activity of Coffee senna (Cassia occidentalis) and Tilt fungicides against (Fusarium solani ) in Potato

Abstract

The present study was conducted on the Laboratory of plant pathology at the College of Agricultural Studies, Sudan University of Science and Technology (SUST) to control the dry rot of potato caused by Fusarium solani . Wlti is an important disease of potato crop causing significant reduction in yield. In present study, the pathogenic fungus was isolated from infected plant parts and identified based on morphological and cultural characters as Fusarium solani f.sp.eumartii. The in vitro studies were conducted to evaluate the efficacy of Coffee senna (Cassia occidentalis L) Leaves and Seeds ethanol extract and fungicide Tilt (250 EC) to control potato wilt pathogen. Different concentrations (25, 50 and100 %) respectively, of plant extracts were used in the study. All the plants extracts showed significant reduction of pathogen. Among the different extracts leaves ethanol extracts it was most effective followed by seed ethanol extract in the growth. The results showed that all tested concentrations of both plant parts and fungicide caused inhibitory effect on the growth of the tested fungi compared to control. The highest concentration used in this study (100%) scored higher inhibition percentage (42.2, 50.7 and 94.9) respectively. Generally, the results showed that the antifungal activity increase with the increasing in concentration of each extract and Tilt. However, the inhibitory effect of Leaves ethanolic extract of Coffee senna on fungi was more pronounced than that of Seeds ethanolic extract of Coffee senna. Application of plant extract which are easily available for controlling plant diseases are non-pollutive, cost effective nonhazardous and do not disturb ecological balance. Investigations are in progress to test the efficacy of these extracts in field applications. In conclusion, this study showed that Coffee senna leaves and seeds extracts contain antifungal properties that could be investigated in further studies.