ANTIFUNGAL ACTIVITY OF MELIA AZEDARACH L. FRUIT EXTRACT AGAINST ASCOCHYTA RABIEI (PASS.) LAB.

Abstract

Ascochyta rabiei (Pass.) Lab. causes blight that is a major constraint in chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) production worldwide including Pakistan. Disease is generally controlled by repeated applications of foliar fungicides that cause environmental pollution and also responsible for health hazards. The present study was carried out to investigate the antifungal potential of different organic solvent fractions of methanolic fruit extract of Melia azedarach L. against A. rabiei (Pass.) Lab. Methanolic fruit extract of this tree was partitioned with n-hexane, chloroform, ethyl acetate and n-butanol. After evaporation of solvents in a rotary evaporator, different concentrations of the crud organic fraction were prepared and evaluated against the target fungal pathogen. All the concentrations of organic solvent fractions significantly reduced the fungal biomass over corresponding control treatments. There was 43-87%, 75-94%, 69-95%, 38-89% and 63-94% reduction in fungal biomass due to different concentrations of n-hexane, chloroform, ethyl acetate, n-butanol and aqueous fraction of methanolic fruit extract of M. azedarach, respectively. The present study concludes that all these fractions of methanolic fruit extract of M. azedarach possess substantial antifungal potential against A. rabiei. These fractions and their purified compounds may be used as alternatives to synthetic fungicides for the management of A. rabiei.