Abstract:The fungicidal and nematicidal activity of an emulsifiable formulation of furfural [2-furancarboxaldehyde] against root rot and root-knot pathogens was studied in laboratory, greenhouse and field experiments. The linear growth of tested soilborne pathogenic fungi was dramatically reduced with the increasing of furfural concentrations added to the growth medium up to 4 000 ppm where no growth was observed, while the bacterial and fungal bioagents showed more tolerance to these concentrations and failed to grow at 6 000 and 7 000 ppm, respectively. Pot and field experiments indicated that furfural at 6 000 ppm combined with bioagent treatments proved to have superior suppressive effect against tomato root rot incidence, caused by Fusarium solani and Rhizoctonia solani, comparing with each individual treatment. Numbers of nematodes in soil declined sharply in direct response to furfural application with the sharpest reductions in its population. No symptoms of root-knot incidence, caused by Meloidogyne incognita as well as no detected galls and eggmasess were observed in the root system of tomato plants grown in either artificially or naturally infested soil with the parasite at the same concentration under greenhouse and field conditions. Results from these experiments indicate that a variety of effective broad-spectrum formulations of furfural can be developed for control of economically important soilborne pests.
Control measures of postharvest diseases of strawberry and navel orange fruits using hydrogen peroxide, calcium chloride and chitosan were evaluated under in vitro and in vivo conditions. All tested concentrations of chemicals used were able to reduce the linear growth and spore germination of B. cinerea; R. stolonifer; P. digitatum and P. italicum. Complete inhibition of linear growth and spore germination was obtained with concentrations of 1.5 and 2.0% of all treatments. Under storage conditions, significant reduction in descending order of mould incidence was observed in strawberry and orange fruits treated with ascending concentrations of calcium chloride, hydrogen peroxide and chitosan. Obtained data revealed significant reduction in mould incidence in fruits when treated by calcium chloride and chitosan 12h before artificial inoculation with the mould pathogens, while hydrogen peroxide showed the opposite result. The present study demonstrated that the application of hydrogen peroxide is superior to treatment with calcium chloride or chitosan enhanced the control activity against mould pathogens which as it expressed was as either percentage of diseased fruits or decay development as rotted tissue weight of strawberry and navel orange. The applied tested chemical might act as contact and systemic fungicides which have a protective or therapeutic effect.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.