Essential Oils as Antimicrobials in Crop Protection
María Alonso-Gato,
Gonzalo Astray,
Juan C. Mejuto,
Jesus Simal-Gandara
Affiliations
María Alonso-Gato
Department of Physical Chemistry, Faculty of Science, University of Vigo–Ourense Campus, E32004 Ourense, Spain
Gonzalo Astray
Department of Physical Chemistry, Faculty of Science, University of Vigo–Ourense Campus, E32004 Ourense, Spain
Juan C. Mejuto
Department of Physical Chemistry, Faculty of Science, University of Vigo–Ourense Campus, E32004 Ourense, Spain
Jesus Simal-Gandara
Nutrition and Bromatology Group, Department of Analytical and Food Chemistry, Faculty of Food Science and Technology, University of Vigo–Ourense Campus, E32004 Ourense, Spain
At present, organic crops have reached an important boom in a society increasingly interested in the conservation of the environment and sustainability. It is evident that a part of the population in the Western world focuses their concern on how to obtain our food and on doing it in a way that is as respectful as possible with the environment. In this review, we present a compilation of the work carried out with the use of essential oils as an alternative in the fight against different bacteria and fungi that attack crops and related products. Given the collected works, the efficacy of essential oils for their use as pesticides for agricultural use is evident.
