Abstract

Macrophomina phaseolina (Tassi.). Goid is the etiological agent of one of the major diseases in cowpea bean crop, commonly known as gray rot stem. Due to the lack of registered phytosanitary products to control this disease, the search for alternative control methods is increasingly common. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of essential oils on mycelial growth of M. phaseolina. The oils tested were Mentha sp., Eucalyptus spp., Copaifera sp., and Lippia gracilis at concentrations of 0.4; 0.6; 0.8 and 1.0%. The work was conducted in Phytopathology Laboratory of the Federal University of Campina Grande. Daily measurements of the colony diameter were performed in two perpendicular directions until it filled the entire surface of the culture medium of one of the plates. The experiment was conducted in a completely randomized experimental design in a factorial arrangement 4 × 4 + 1 + 1, with sixteen treatments plus one negative control and one positive control, which consisted of the supplemental application in the medium (BDA) of the fungicide Sportak 450 EC (Procloraz), five replications, totaling 90 experimental plots. The data were interpreted through non-parametric analysis of variance and the means were compared by the Kruskal-wallis test, with a 5% probability of error and Scott Knott at 5% probability in cases where there were significant differences and data normality. The Mentha sp. essential oil and Lippia gracilis showed better results in inhibiting mycelial growth, while the Eucalyptus essential oil and Copaifera, although potentially promising, showed intermediate inhibition of fungal mycelial growth.

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