Antifungal Nanoformulation for Biocontrol of Tomato Root and Crown Rot Caused by <i>Fusarium oxysporum</i> f. sp. <i>radicis</i>-<i>lycopersici</i>

Abstract

Tomatoes (Solanum lycopersicum L.) are the most cultivated and important vegetable crop in the world. These plants can wilt during crop growth due to fusarium wilt (fusariosis), a disease that damages tomato vascular systems. The Fusarium isolated and analyzed in this work correspond to Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. radicis-lycopersici. The isolates were molecularly identified, and analysis was done on the in vitro effects of the nanoemulsions (previously obtained from extracts of Chilean medicinal plants of the genera Psoralea and Escallonia) to inhibit mycelial and conidial germination of the isolates. Subsequently, the nanoemulsions were evaluated under greenhouse conditions for preventive control of fusariosis in the root and crown, with high levels of disease control observed using the highest concentrations of these nanoemulsions, at 250 and 500 ppm.

Keywords

• <i>Fusarium oxysporum</i>
• crown and root rot
• plant extract
• nanoemulsions
• tomato plants