Antifungal effects of clove (Syzygium aromaticum) essential oil against Colletotrichum gloeosporioides, the fungus associated with papaya (Carica papaya L.) fruit anthracnose

Article Type: Full Length Research Article The present study was carried out to determine the chemical composition of clove essential oil and evaluate its potential to control Colletotrichum gloeosporoides, the causal agent of fruit rots in Carica papaya L. Hydro-distillation method was used to extract essential oil from clove and its chemical composition was analyzed by gas chromatography (GC) and gas chromatography coupled with mass spectroscopy (GC/MS). The antifungal potential of clove oil was evaluated in vitro in two life stages of the pathogen and in vivo using artificially infected fruits. The results obtained showed that, the yield of extraction of oil was 9.66%. The GC analysis revealed the presence of 28 volatile compounds with eugenol (87.62%), β-caryophyllene (5.88%) and β-bisabolene (4.41%) being major components. Clove oil significantly inhibited the mycelial growth and conidia germination of C. gloeosporoides with minimum inhibition concentration (MIC) at 375 and 100 μl/l, respectively. On papaya fruits, 3000 μl/l of essential oil was required to completely inhibit (100%) the necrosis caused by C. gloeosporoides both for preventive and curative assay. These results show that clove oil is a potential candidate for biopesticide development to manage papaya fruit anthracnose disease. ©2020 Blue Pen Journals Ltd. All rights reserved