In-Vitro Evaluation of Plant Extracts against Sudden Death Disease in Mango Trees

Abstract

Mango is a major fruit crop of Sindh. In recent past death in mango has caused massive losses in its production. In order to find the preventive measures for this disease efficacy of plant extracts was evaluated in this experiment. Botanical extracts of five plants i.e. neem (Azadirachta indica), ak (Calotropis procera), dhatura ( Nicotiana tabacum) and onion (Allium cepa) were used. These extracts were tested in vitro in four concentrations 2ml, 5ml, 10ml, 20ml per liter of nutrient media in three replicates using completely randomized design. The results revealed that plant extracts considerably inhibited mycellial growth of test fungus as compared to control. Neem extract was the most effective and it produced 84.29% inhibition followed by tobacco with 74.84% reduction in fungal growth. Minimum reduction (53.428%) of Ceratocystis fimbriata was observed in dhatura extracts. The use of these extracts especially neem can be fruitful in eco management of sudden death in mango