Fumigant efficacy of Cumin essential oil on fungi and insect infesting Pisum sativum during storage

Pisum sativum showed association of fifteen fungal species and one species of insect Callosobruchus chinensis. On the basis of % frequency Aspergillus flavus, A. niger, A. ochraceous, A. terreus were found to be dominant. These species showed reduction in terms of weight loss, germination and protein content of pea. Essential oil was extracted by hydro distillation from fruits of Cuminum cyminum. The obtained oil was evaluated against the frequently present fungi, Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus niger as well as insect-Callosobruchus chinensis and exhibited the greatest toxicity. The oil was cidal and showed thermostable nature at its minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) at 400ppm. The oil safely preserved pea seeds up to 4 months at 0.50 (1000ppm) and 0.76 mL (1500ppm) in polyethylene and jute bags of 500 mL capacity containing 400g seeds separately with no changes in organoleptic behaviour of food seeds during storage. The oil promoted on number of visible nodule dormation and seed weight loss of 15 day old plants. The cumin oil was analyzed by gas chromatography (GC) and GC-mass spectrometry (MS) and Kovats values calculated