Antifungal activity of Vegetal extracts against fungal pathogens of Solanum lycopersicum L

Abstract

Solanum lycopersicum L. is often attacked by fungal pathogens like Fusarium oxysporum Schlee, Alternaria solani Sor, Passarola fulva (Cooke) U. Braun and Crous, Botritys cinerea Pers, Rhizoctonia solani Khün and Sclerotium rolfsii Sacc. The phytosanitary control of these diseases is commonly executed by synthetic fungicides that increase the production cost and cause intense problems to the environment and damage human health. It is necessary to find new cheaper alternatives and with low environmental impact like vegetal extracts. In this research, a review about the use of vegetal extracts against tomato pathogens was made, focusing on the tested vegetal specie, the way to determine the antifungal activity and the evaluated fungus. The bibliographic research covered the period 2003-2013 and it was consulted 54 articles of journals indexed in specialized databases of international and Latin American acceptance. The most evaluated vegetal extracts by the investigators were those related to the leaves of Azadirachta indica A. Juss and Allium sativum L., the most studied fungus was R. solani. In the majority of cases, the antifungal activity was only determined in vitro conditions

Keywords

• antifungal activity
• vegetal extracts
• fungal pathogens
• Solanum lycopersicum.