In vitro antifungal potential of plant extracts against Fusarium oxysporum, Rhizoctonia solani and Macrophomina phaseolina.

The antifungal activity of aqueous extracts of nine plants viz, Azadirachta indica, Parthenium hysterophorus, Momordica charantia, Allium sativum, Eucalyptus globules, Calotropis procera, Aloe vera, Beta vulgaris and Datura stramonium were assessed in vitro against Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. melongenae, Rhizoctonia solani and Macrophomina phaseolina, the soil borne phytopathogens. The assessment of fungitoxic effect was carried out by using three different concentrations i.e., 5, 10 and 20% against the test fungi, in terms of percentage of mycelial growth inhibition. The extract of A. sativum completely inhibited the mycelial growth of M. phaseolina at all the concentrations. The extracts of D. stramonium and E. globulus inhibited the mycelial growth of R. solani of 72%, and 70.7% respectively at 20% concentration, that of A. sativum, E. globulus and D. stramonium exhibited inhibition percentage of 63.3%, 61.8% and 61.1% respectively at 20% concentration on Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. melongenae. The application of plant extracts for disease management could be less expensive, easily available, non-polluting and eco-friendly.