Abstract
In this study, the effects of organic powder of Cinnamomum zeylanicum on the development of Botrytis cinerea and its influence on tomato plants were evaluated. The cinnamon bark powder and its water suspensions and filtrates were used at 0.5 and 1% rates. After 6 days of the start of an in vitro experiment the mycelium growth was inhibited by both 0.5 and 1% cinnamon water filtrates - to a greater degree in the case of the higher concentration, by 54.4 and 81.4%, respectively. Spraying with cinnamon water filtrates positively influenced the growth of plants both in the greenhouse and the field. Antifungal activity of cinnamon was proved in the greenhouse tests - the disease symptoms of grey mould on infected tomato plants decreased. The fresh weight of non-inoculated tomato plants treated with cinnamon filtrates was significantly higher than control plants (17.17 g compared to 12.83 g) showing a stimulating effect of cinnamon filtrates. In the case of inoculated plants due to treatment, their weight increased from 7.83 to 10.50 g. In the field experiment, tomato plants sprayed six times with cinnamon were better developed than the control plants. The most significant effect was observed for Hamlet variety - the mean number of leaves was higher by 27.3% and the mean number of branches by 19.7% compared to the untreated control plants. Thus it was proved that cinnamon powder has potential to inhibit B. cinerea growth and also has a stimulating effect for tomato plants.
Highlights
There is a worldwide trend to explore new alternatives to control plant diseases, giving priority to methods that reduce disease symptoms and avoid negative side effects on human health resulting from excessive application of synthetic fungicides
New pesticides, including natural product-based pesticides are being discovered and developed to replace the compounds lost due to the new registration requirements (Regulation (EC) No1107/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 October 2009 concerning the placing of plant protection products on the market and repealing council directives 79/117/EEC and 91/414/EE’ 2009)
Three days after PDA inoculation the highest inhibition effect of mycelial growth was obtained while using 1% of cinnamon water suspensions and 1% of cinnamon filtrates, which reduced the fungus lesion by 64 and 47.8%, respectively (Table 1)
Summary
There is a worldwide trend to explore new alternatives to control plant diseases, giving priority to methods that reduce disease symptoms and avoid negative side effects on human health resulting from excessive application of synthetic fungicides. The possibility of limiting the development of pathogenic fungi by applying agents, which are natural and alternative to pesticides, is a popular research direction. New pesticides, including natural product-based pesticides are being discovered and developed to replace the compounds lost due to the new registration requirements (Regulation (EC) No1107/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 October 2009 concerning the placing of plant protection products on the market and repealing council directives 79/117/EEC and 91/414/EE’ 2009). The use of natural products is one of biological control methods in fungal disease control. The method is still not common and investigations are required to find suitable plants that can be used to control pathogenic fungi (El-Mougy Nehal and Abdel-Kader Mokhtar 2007; Kowalska 2011; Remlein-Starosta et al 2016)
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