IN VITRO AND IN VIVO EVALUATION OF ANTIFUNGAL ACTIVITIES OF SOME ANTAGONISTIC PLANTS AGAINST CHARCOAL ROT CAUSING FUNGUS MACROPHOMINA PHASEOLINA

Antifungal potential of twenty antagonistic plants was assessed against the most damaging phytopathogenic fungus Macrophomina phaseolina. All the test plants inhibited the growth of M. phaseolina significantly to varying levels. The maximum inhibition was observed with Carum copticum (83.5%), Azadirachta indica (76.1%) and Nigella sativa (70.4%) at 10% concentration. The powders of Olea europaea, Cassia angustifolia, Ocimum americanum and Lawsonia inermis caused more than 50% reductions in the growth of the fungus. Percentage inhibition was found to be significantly higher at higher concentrations of all the plants as compared to lower ones. The treatment of seeds with decoctions of these plants improved seedling emergence of mungbean in a dose responsive manner. The maximum seedling emergence was observed when the seeds were treated with C. copticum (83.3%) followed by A. indica (80.0%) at 10%. The study demonstrates the potent antifungal activities of these plants with potential practical applications in the treatment of charcoal rot disease of Mungbean.