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Abstract
Anthracnose was one of the major diseases of strawberry cultivation in Sri Lanka, caused by a fungal pathogen Colletotrichum acutatum Simmonds, and the application of synthetic fungicides was the well-known method used in disease management. Since there was a requirement to find alternative methods to control the disease, six plant extracts were tested as an organic management approach. The study aimed to evaluate the in vitro efficacy of selected plant extracts against Colletotrichum acutatum isolated from strawberry and to identify promising botanical alternatives to synthetic fungicides for sustainable strawberry cultivation in the highlands of Sri Lanka. In well diffusion test, sterilized distilled water, garlic (0.25 g/mL), Mint (0.25 g/mL), rosemary (0.25 g/mL), turmeric (0.25 g/mL), ginger (0.25 g/mL), cinnamon oil (0.25 mL/mL), Fungicide (Chlorothalonil 500 g/L SC (0.003 mL/mL) were the tested treatments. Cinnamon oil suspension (0.25 g/mL) and garlic bulb extract (0.25 g/mL) were able to control C. acutatum under in vitro conditions. However, according to the sensory evaluation test of plant extracts treated fruits, the most preferable plant extract application was garlic bulb extract, which is having significantly similar “overall acceptance” with untreated fresh strawberry fruits. Based on the results, garlic bulb extract is suggested as an organic disease management method which can be used in an anthracnose management method in organic strawberry production.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Kalupahana Pushpanjie, Arulappu George Chandra Babu, Karuna Pedige Harsha Chathuranga, Herath Kumara Bandarage Muditha Indrajith Karunarathna
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
References
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- Sharma, R. R., Singh, D., & Singh, R. (2022). Climate change impact on fruit crop diseases and management strategies. Scientia Horticulturae, 293, 110695. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scienta.2021.110695
- Sharma, S., & Tripathi, P. (2022). Botanical fungicides for sustainable crop protection: Recent advances and future prospects. Biological Control, 172, 104971. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocontrol.2022.104971
- Thomidis, T., & Filotheou, A. (2016). Evaluation of five essential oils as biofungicides on the control of Pilidiella granati rot in pomegranate. Crop Protection, 89, 66–71.
- Tzortzakis, N., & Economakis, C. D. (2020). Antifungal activity of essential oils against postharvest pathogens. Agronomy, 10(6), 765. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy10060765
- Vieira, S. A. W., Bezerra, A. P., Silva, A. C., Veloso, S. J., Camara, S. M., & Doyle, P. V. (2020). Optimal markers for the identification of Colletotrichum species. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 143, 106694. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ympev.2019.106694
References
Adeyemi, M. M., Adegboye, M. F., Akinyemi, A. J., & Oladipo, I. C. (2023). Plant-derived antifungal compounds as sustainable alternatives to synthetic fungicides. Plants, 12(7), 14–56. https://doi.org/10.3390/plants12071456
AGSTAT. (2020) (XVII). Socio Economics and Planning Center, Department of Agriculture.
Alahakoon, P. W., Jayawardana, N. H., Nilmini, R. K., & Munasinghe, R. (2013). Effect of cinnamon, clove and nutmeg leaf extracts on the control of anthracnose disease in chilli. Annals of the Sri Lanka Department of Agriculture, 15, 195–203.
Damm, U., Cannon, P. F., Woudenberg, J. H. C., & Crous, P. W. (2012). The Colletotrichum acutatum species complex. Studies in Mycology, 73, 37–113. https://doi.org/10.3114/sim0010
Dean, R., Van Kan, J. A. L., Pretorius, Z. A., Hammond-Kosack, K. E., Di Pietro, A., Spanu, P. D., Rudd, J. J., Dickman, M., Kahmann, R., Ellis, J., & Foster, G. D. (2012). The Top 10 fungal pathogens in molecular plant pathology. Molecular Plant Pathology, 13(4), 414–430. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1364-3703.2011.00783.x
Duduk, N., Markovic, T., Vasic, M., Duduk, B., Vico, I., & Obradovic, A. (2015). Antifungal activity of three essential oils against Colletotrichum acutatum, the causal agent of strawberry anthracnose. Journal of Essential Oil Bearing Plants, 18(3), 529–537.
Egamberdieva, D., Wirth, S., Behrendt, U., Ahmad, P., & Berg, G. (2017). Antimicrobial activity of medicinal plants correlates with the proportion of antagonistic endophytes. Frontiers in Microbiology, 8, 1–99. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2017.00199
FAOSTAT. (2023). Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations statistical database. FAO. https://www.fao.org/faostat/
Forcelini, B. B., Seijo, T. E., Amiri, A., & Peres, N. A. (2016). Resistance in Colletotrichum acutatum from strawberry to QoI fungicides. Plant Disease, 100(10), 2050–2056. https://doi.org/10.1094/PDIS-02-16-0193-RE
Gong, X., Su, X., Liu, H., Chen, J., & Zhang, J. (2021). Diallyl trisulfide, the antifungal component of garlic essential oil and the bioactivity of its nanoemulsions formed by spontaneous emulsification. Molecules, 26(23), 71–86. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules26237186
He, J., Wu, D., Zhang, Q., Chen, H., Li, H., Han, Q., Lai, X., Wang, H., Wu, Y., Yuan, J., Dong, H., & Qin, W. (2018). Efficacy and mechanism of cinnamon essential oil on inhibition of Colletotrichum acutatum. Frontiers in Microbiology, 9, 12–88. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2018.01288
Hosseini, S., Amini, J., Saba, M. K., Karimi, K., & Pertot, I. (2020). Preharvest and postharvest application of garlic and rosemary essential oils for controlling anthracnose and quality assessment of strawberry fruit during cold storage. Frontiers in Microbiology, 11, 18–55. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2020.01855
Jayawardena, R. S., Hyde, K. D., Damm, U., Cai, L., Liu, M., Li, X., & Zhang, W. (2021). Diversity and global distribution of Colletotrichum species associated with anthracnose diseases. Mycosphere, 12(1), 1–40.
Kakar, M. U., Nawaz, A., Saeed, M., Shah, S. A., & Iqbal, Z. (2021). Antifungal mechanisms of plant essential oils against plant pathogenic fungi. Microbial Pathogenesis, 152, 104620. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.micpath.2020.104620
Kheawka, P., Soytong, K., & Kanokmedhakul, S. (2023). Antifungal activity of plant extracts against Colletotrichum species causing fruit anthracnose. Journal of Fungi, 9(4), 4–12. https://doi.org/10.3390/jof9040412
Lu, H., Ban, Z., Wang, K., Li, D., Poverenov, E., & Li, L. (2017). Aroma volatiles sensory and chemical attributes of strawberry (Fragaria × ananassa Duch.). International Journal of Food Science & Technology, 52, 2614–2622.
Oliveira, M. S., Amiri, A., & Peres, N. A. (2022). Fungicide resistance in Colletotrichum spp.: Current status and management strategies. Crop Protection, 158, 106008. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cropro.2022.106008
Prakash, B., Kedia, A., Mishra, P. K., & Dubey, N. K. (2021). Plant essential oils as sustainable alternatives for postharvest disease management. Food Control, 123, 107736. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodcont.2020.107736
Raveau, R., Fontaine, J., & Lounès-Hadj Sahraoui, A. (2020). Essential oils as potential alternative biocontrol products against plant pathogens. Molecules, 25(14), 32–86. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules25143286
Ribeiro-Santos, JA dos Santos Oliveira, AP Ferreira, AD Polli, AA da Silva, A da Silva Ribeiro, JL Azevedo, Acta Scientiarum. Technology. (2021). Plant growth-promoting activity of wild-type and bromate-resistant mutant of the endophytic fungus Colletotrichum karstii.
Sharma, R. R., Singh, D., & Singh, R. (2022). Climate change impact on fruit crop diseases and management strategies. Scientia Horticulturae, 293, 110695. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scienta.2021.110695
Sharma, S., & Tripathi, P. (2022). Botanical fungicides for sustainable crop protection: Recent advances and future prospects. Biological Control, 172, 104971. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocontrol.2022.104971
Thomidis, T., & Filotheou, A. (2016). Evaluation of five essential oils as biofungicides on the control of Pilidiella granati rot in pomegranate. Crop Protection, 89, 66–71.
Tzortzakis, N., & Economakis, C. D. (2020). Antifungal activity of essential oils against postharvest pathogens. Agronomy, 10(6), 765. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy10060765
Vieira, S. A. W., Bezerra, A. P., Silva, A. C., Veloso, S. J., Camara, S. M., & Doyle, P. V. (2020). Optimal markers for the identification of Colletotrichum species. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 143, 106694. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ympev.2019.106694