Mycelial inhibitory effects of antagonistic fungi, plant essential oils and propolis against five phytopathogenic Fusarium species.

Fusarium spp. are considered as one of the most devastating plant pathogenic fungi worldwide. In this study, the effect of essential oil (EO) of Mentha longifolia, M. spicata, Achillea sp. and Foeniculum vulgare, ethanolic extract of Propolis (EEP), and Trichoderma harzianum T447 and T. hamatum T622 was investigated against five phytopathogenic Fusarium species. The results showed that the fungal species, the type of EO, and concentrations play a substantial role in inhibiting the mycelial growth of Fusarium spp. GC-MS analysis of the EOs showed that the piperitone oxide and cis-piperitone oxide were found as the main components of M. longifolia. Our results also revealed that EEP possessed the growth inhibitory effect against Fusarium spp. It was observed that the extracellular secretions of T. harzianum T447 showed very high inhibition against the fungi. Our results highlighted the need for further research to apply them as a safe alternative to the chemical pesticides.