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In vitro and in vivo antimicrobial activity of propolis extracts against various plant pathogens

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Abstract

A mixture of the isolates of Fusarium graminearum, Alternaria brassicicola, Verticillium dahliae, and Pythium ultimum was examined to determine antimicrobial activity of the extracts of water-based and alcohol-based propolis at different concentrations (10, 20, 30, 40, 50, and 60 mg/ml) according to in vitro (disk diffusion and well diffusion methods) and in vivo (seed, foliar, and seed + foliar treatments) assays. In disk diffusion and well diffusion assays, the diameter of inhibition zones at a concentration of 60 mg/ml of propolis extracts exhibited a considerable increase against all of the pathogenic isolates. For both methods, the most effective concentration of the water-based propolis extract against V. dahliae and of the alcohol-based propolis against A. brassicicola was determined to be 60 mg/ml with inhibition zones above 4.2 cm and 4.3 cm, respectively. For in vivo assays, while the seed + foliar treatment of alcohol-based propolis extract at a concentration of 60 mg/ml was determined to have the highest antimicrobial activity with an inhibition rate of 97.9% against A. brassicicola in cabbage plants, the seed + foliar treatment of water-based propolis extract at a concentration of 60 mg/ml was found to exhibit the highest antimicrobial activity with an inhibition rate of 91.6% against V. dahliae in alfalfa plants. The results verified that the propolis extracts had a high capacity, as a promising and an eco-friendly alternative against various plant pathogens, to minimize the use of chemical pesticides.

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Acknowledgements

The author is grateful to Julia SAHRAN and Burcu Akal for giving language support and useful comments.

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  1. Istanbul Directorate of Agricultural Quarantine, Istanbul, Turkey

    Yesim Er

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Er, Y. In vitro and in vivo antimicrobial activity of propolis extracts against various plant pathogens. J Plant Dis Prot 128, 693–701 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s41348-021-00437-y

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