Abstract
Application of essential oils in controlling plant pathogens is generally associated with difficulty due to low solubility in water, strong odor, physical and chemical instability. One of the ways to minimise these effects is to use a nanoemulsion system. It also increases the antimicrobial properties. In this research, after preparation of cinnamon (Cinnamon zeylanicum L.) essential oil (CEO), nanoemulsion of the essential oil was prepared and its physical and chemical properties were determined. The particle size of nanoemulsion was determined to be
 115.33 ± 3.97 nm. Emulsification and nanoemulsion of the essential oil along with thiabendazole as an antifungal agent at various concentrations of active ingredient were studied for control of Rhizopus stolonifera and Botrytis cinerea fungi, strawberry fruit decay. Results in solid Potato Dextrose Agar (PDA) medium indicated that emulsion and nanoemulsion of CEO have a significant difference in antifungal activity against B. cinerea and R. stolonifera. The minimum inhibitory concentration was 500 and 1,000 μl fungi per liter of culture medium. According to the results of the research, essential oil nanoemulsion had a significant effect on the reduction of a fungal cartilage of strawberry fruit. In general, nano-emulsions of the essential oil showed more antifungal activity than essential oil. There was no significant difference in decay control between thiabendazole and CEO. The nano-emulsion of cinna- mon oil at a concentration of 0.2% proved significant effect in reducing fruit decay and showed the lowest fruit infec- tion (5.43%). Consequently, nano-emulsion of essential oil is recommended for the production of natural fungicides.
Highlights
Strawberries have a very short shelf life because of the high susceptibility to fungal agents
The results obtained from investigating the antifungal effect of CEO emulsion and nanoemulsion on the growth of fungus showed that generally, an increase in the concentration of essential oil has led to increasing in antifungal activity
The preventive effect of essential oil against fungi growth is due to their active ingredients
Summary
Strawberries have a very short shelf life because of the high susceptibility to fungal agents. The use of artificial antifungal chemical compounds has been a concern for increasing the shelf life of this fruit. For this reason, it is necessary to use safe methods to control decomposition and maintain the quality of strawberry fruit during storage. Due to the presence of ascorbic acid and anthocyanin, it has a high antioxidant effect and has many healing properties, such as enhancing the immune system and reducing the incidence of cancers [2], Its susceptibility to fungal rot, especially Rhizopus stolonifer, and grey mold produced by Botrytis cinerea, as well as high respiration rate, high water content (about 91%), and high metabolic activity have made strawberry one of the most corrosive fruit with short lifespan [3]. The use of chemical pesticides to reduce the damage caused by pathogens after harvest is a matter [4,5,6]
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