CORDEIRO, M. L. S.; CORDEIRO, Maria Lúcia da Silva.
Resumo:
Anthracnose, caused by the fungus Colletotrichum musae, stands out as one of the
most important post-harvest diseases affecting bananas, accounting for considerable losses in
the production of culture. In order to control this pathogen, the antifungal effect of native
plants from the Caatinga biome in the form of plant extracts was evaluated In vitro, as well as
the effects of the concentrations 25%, 50%, 75% and 100% of these extracts on mycelial
growth of the fungus Colletotricum musae which causes anthracnose in banana. The
hydroethanolic extracts of mastic (Astronium urundeuva [Fr. All.] Engl.), Mimosa
(Anadenanthera colubrina var.cebil), Rosemary-of-field (Lippia microphylla Cham), and
catingueira [Poincianella pyramidalis (Tul.) L. P. Queiroz], were added to the PDA (potato
dextrose agar) at concentrations of 25%, 50%, 75%, 100% and the control contained only
culture medium. The evaluations were made by mean of two measurements, daily opposite to
the diameter of the colonies at 48, 72, 96 and 120 h after the beginning of the experiment. The
experiment was a completely randomized design with four replications. The data were
submitted to analysis of variance where the means were compared by Scott-Knott test at 5%
probability. The results for In vitro tests showed that the field-of-rosemary extract, at all
concentrations tested, was the most effective inhibiting pathogen growth by 100%. With
respect to other extracts in general, significant reductions in the diameter of the fungal
colonies were observed only when it was used the highest concentration studied. The
effectiveness of the fungitoxic action, In vitro, on the development of fungus Colletotricum
musae showed that the compounds present in hydroethanolic extracts of the plant species of
the Caatinga, presented themselves as potential control for this pathogen.