Efficacy of Botanicals Against Storage Seed Borne Fungal Microflora of Paddy
Abstract
Leaf extracts from twenty plant species were evaluated at 10% concentration against predominant storage seed bome fungal pathogens of paddy under laboratory conditions. The plant extract of Prosophis juliflora followed by Ocimum sanctum, Mentha arvensis, Abutilon indicum and Clerodendron inerme exhibited maximum antifungal activities towards inhibiting the mycelial growth as well as biomass production and spore germination of the pathogens. The promising plant extracts were further evaluated for their efficacies to contain grain spoilage and to influence the gerrninability and vigour index of paddy seedlings. The results concluded that the leaf extract of P. juliflora could be used as an effective altemative to chemical fungicides in containing grain spoilage.
Keywords
Botanicals, Oryza sativa, Seed borne microflora
