Potential application of actinomycetes as natural fungicide

Abstract

Fungal diseases in green leafy vegetables are commonly under-estimated. However, the application of agrochemical fungicide has raised multiple drawbacks such as the higher amount of chemical residues and intensified microbial community stress. There is an urgent need to establish a bio-control antifungal agent with minimal toxicity threat, which sourced from natural environment. This study aimed to isolate soil-borne fungi from soil underneath infected green leafy vegetables and identify the antifungal activities of actinomycete strains on the isolated fungi strain. Fungi were isolated from 3 soils collected underneath the infected green leafy vegetables. Actinomycete strains were screened for antifungal potential against selected fungi strains using agar plug assay. Forty-one fungal strains were isolated from the soil samples. Actinomycetes strain C.D6.5 exhibited the largest inhibition zone on five selected fungal strains, whereas actinomycetes strain C.KSJ 13.3 produced the broadest spectrum of antifungal activities. It can be concluded that actinomycetes strain have significant antagonistic activity against fungi and pure antifungal component can be extracted as an effective and environmental friendly bio-control agent on plant fungi.