| Abstrakt: |
Chilli pepper is one of the most important economic crops. However, anthracnose (Colletotrichum spp.) is one of the most devastating fungal diseases affecting the quality and yield of chili. There is a need to control this fungal infection at all growth stages, starting from the seed (initial) stage, by using a natural and eco-friendly approach. Laboratory and pot studies were conducted to evaluate the efficacy of coating anthracnose-infected chili seed with 1-Deoxynomyjirimycin (1-DNJ) mulberry leaf extract on seed germination, plant growth, and anthracnose development. The levels of 1-DNJ mulberry leaf extract coating were 1, 2, 3 and 4%. In addition, a positive control with 1% thiram fungicide was applied as well as a negative control with neither 1-DNJ nor thiram application. The results revealed that coating chilli seed infected with anthracnose with the mulberry leaf extract resulted in a significantly improved germination rate of over 80% in treatments 2, 3, and 4% mulberry leaf extract coating. The chilli plant growth parameters, root lengths and shoot heights were significantly greater in the treatments where seeds were coated with 2, 3 and 4% mulberry leaf extract coating compared to both positive and negative controls. A similar result was observed for chilli seedlings shoot fresh weight, where the shoot fresh weight was the highest in the treatment with 2% mulberry leaf extract. These results clearly showed that the mulberry leaf extract (1-DNJ) has the potential to inhibit Colletotrichum spp. and enhance the chilli seed quality. Hence, 2% mulberry leaf extract (1-DNJ) could be adopted as a coating formulation for disease infected chilli seed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
