Use Of Cymbopogon Citratus Leaf Essential Oil For Management Of Anthracnosis In Yam-Grops

Abstract

The essential oil of Cymbopogon citratus (DC.) Stapf. (Lemongrass) has been positioned as a phytosanitary alternative to counteract the effects caused by phytopathogenic fungi. The aim of the present study was to evaluate in vitro the inhibitory activity of essential oils from Cymbopogon citratus (lemongrass) leaves against Colletotrichum gloeosporioides. Leaves of the silver species Cymbopogon citratus were collected in the sub-region of the savannahs of the department of Sucre; for the extraction of essential oils (EO), fresh leaves were weighed and EO was obtained using the microwave-assisted hydrodistillation method. The antifungal activity of the EOs was evaluated using the surface seeding technique on solid medium, the activity was expressed as percentage inhibition index. Chemical characterisation of the essential oils was performed by gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry. The highest antifungal index efficiency of lemongrass was observed at concentrations of 5,000, 8,000 and 10,000 ppm. The main constituent identified in lemongrass EOs was citral, which is possibly related to the inhibitory activity of the fungus causing anthracnose disease in yam crop.