PJB-2020-262
THE USE OF SOME BIOLOGICAL FUNGI TO CONTROL EARLY BLIGHT IN EGGPLANT CAUSED BY Alternaria solani (Ellis & Martin) J. & G.
ABDULNABI A. A. MATROOD
Abstract
The aim of the research was to find a safe and alternative biological means away from the conventional chemical pesticides to eliminate early blight disease of eggplant caused by the fungus Alternaria solani, which poses great threat to eggplant production worldwide, especially in regions with rain and increased humidity. A group of biological resistance fungi was isolated from the rhizosphere of the eggplant, the most frequent of which was the fungus Aspergillus niger followed by the fungus Purpureocillium lilacinum. These fungi were used in the inhibition of the pathogenic fungus A. solani; results revealed that the fungus A. niger outperformed P. lilacinum with an average inhibition of 44.56% and 38.36% respectively. The pesticide pentanol was also used for comparative inhibitory effect for A. solani, several concentrations of the pesticide was used, but the most effective concentration was 100, as fungi were inhibited by 100% in same expense of using filtration of biological fungi to reduce the severity of infection. There was a significant difference between the fungi used to stimulate the enzyme activities of polyphenol oxide in the infected eggplant. The different fungi stimulated enzymatic activities reaching 11.98, 9.87 and 8.11 units/g of fungi A. niger, P. lilacinum and A. solani respectively when compared to the control treatment which recorded 6.12 units/g. Thus, it is recommended that A. niger directly on eggplant leaves to reduce the chances of early blight disease caused by A. solani.
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