Comparative efficacy of fungicides for crown rot control in banana through artificial inoculation of Lasiodiplodia sp.
Keywords:
essential oils, Botanical fungicides, PostharvestAbstract
Crown rot, caused by a complex of fungi, including the genus Lasiodiplodia, is one of the main postharvest diseases affecting banana (Musa spp.) exports in Ecuador. Given the challenges associated with the continuous use of synthetic fungicides, this study evaluated the efficacy of various botanical alternatives for its control. A Completely Randomized Design was applied with five treatments: T0 (absolute control), T1 (tea tree and clove oils), T2 (cinnamon extract, bioflavonoids, and acids), T3 (bioflavonoids and carboxylic acids), and T4 (orange essential oil). The biocompounds were tested under three experimental conditions: in vitro culture, and banana clusters with and without artificial pathogen inoculation. Severity was assessed using the Frossard scale, and data were analyzed using the Kruskal-Wallis test (α = 0.05). Results indicated that, in vitro, T4 completely inhibited mycelial growth, with a highly significant statistical difference (p = 0.0008). However, in the in vivo assays on artificially inoculated fruits, no statistically significant differences were recorded among treatments (p = 0.1639), although T1 descriptively presented the lowest severity. Likewise, no significant differences were found in non-inoculated fruits (p = 0.1116). It is concluded that the antifungal superiority observed in vitro was not replicated on the fruit, indicating the need to optimize botanical formulations before recommending them commercially for postharvest use.
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