PJB-2017-656
Antifungal activity of allelopathic weeds (Medicago parviflora, Solanum nigrum, Melilotus alba and Melilotus indicus) against soil-borne phytopathogenic fungi
DR. Sadiqullah Khan
Abstract
This research paper is based on the assessment to found the substitute of chemical fungicides mostly used for fungal disease control in crops. In this study Fungicidal assessment is made for leaves extract of four notorious crop-weeds i.e Melilotus indicus L., Melilotus alba Desr., Medicago parviflora E.H.L. Krause and Solanum nigrum L which affecting and reduce crop production. These weeds are selected on basis of their strong allelopathic potential against Lettuce (Lactuca sativa) during sandwich and dish pack analysis of weeds of Pakistan. Methanolic extract of all the selected weed plants are screened for their fungicidal activities against the soil-borne fungal phytopathogens Rhizoctonia solani, Rhizoctonia oryzae, Fusarium fujikuroi, Fusarium oxysporum, Pythium ultimum and Pyricularia oryzae. Microspectrophotometric assessment technique is used for antifungal evaluation. Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum fungicidal concentration (MFC) of the extracts are determined. The amended methanolic extract and known fungicide Nystatin for respective fungal strain were consider as negative and positive control respectively. Results indicated that growth of all above-mentioned fungal strains were significantly inhibited. The determined values of the weed extracts ranges between 0.781-25 mg/mL while MFC values ranges from 3.125 to 25 mg/mL. The extracts of Medicago parviflora has shown highest inhibitory activity (119.5%) against Pythium ultimum while Melilotus indicus extract gave lowest suppression (97%) against Fusarium oxosporum. Even at very low concentration, all the selected weeds have expressed maximum fungicidal properties. These results support for potential use of these weed extracts in the management of diseases caused by above-stated plant pathogenic fungi.
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