In vitro assays to investigate ethanol extract of Ipomoea batatas leaves as potential biofungicide for controlling Fusarium

Abstract

Fusarium sp. has been known as a pathogenic agent causing fruit rots in chili and potentially decrease annual chili production rates. One plant potentially utilized for controlling Fusarium is purple sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas L.). Purple sweet potato contain active compounds in the form of flavonoids, which has been previously revealed to perform antifungal activity. This study aimed to determine antifungal activity of purple sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas L.) leaves as a bio fungicide for inhibiting the growth of Fusarium sp.-caused chili fruit rots. This work was conducted by testing the ethanol-extracted purple sweet potato leaves extracts against Fusarium sp. with in vitro assays. It was conducted by applying disc-diffusion method to observe the antifungal activity against Fusarium sp. This study showed inhibitory ability of the leaves extract against the growth of Fusarium sp. to range between 46.9 to 89.2%. Besides, in vitro treatment of the leaves extract at 40% concentration was discovered to significantly inhibit the incubation time of Fusarium sp. fruit rot compared to other treatment groups. These findings suggested the leaves extract at 40% concentration to be a potential bio fungicide for controlling Fusarium fruit rots on chili.