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Antifungal Activity of Agave Species from Gujarat, India

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Microbial Diversity and Biotechnology in Food Security

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Abstract

In the present investigation, crude extracts of five different species of Agave (Agave americana, Agave ferox, Agave montana, Agave scabra and Agave marginata) have been examined against six plant pathogenic fungi, viz. Macrophomina phaseolina, Alternaria porii, Aspergillus awamorii, Aspergillus niger, Fusarium udum and Fusarium solani using media poisoning method. The percent inhibition of hyphal growth was measured after the seventh day of incubation. Vast variations were observed in their activities on different pathogens. Amongst the fungi studied, the highest inhibition (more than 50 %) of hyphal growth was observed for M. phaseolina by all the extracts. These data suggest that the different Agave species have potential as antifungal agents with a broad range of activity. The antifungal compound isolated from these plants can be used as possible ecofriendly plant-based fungicides to control plant diseases.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to the Vimal Research Society for Agro-Biotech and Cosmic Powers and the Centre for Advanced Studies in Plant Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering, Department of Biosciences, Rajkot, Gujarat for providing research facilities, and the University Grants Commission (UGC), Delhi (India) for financial support.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Advanced Studies in Plant Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering, Department of Biosciences, Saurashtra University, Rajkot, 360005, Gujarat, India

    Anjisha R. Maharshi & Vrinda S. Thaker

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  1. Anjisha R. Maharshi
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  2. Vrinda S. Thaker
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Correspondence to Vrinda S. Thaker .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Botany, Banaras Hindu University Centre of Advances Studies in Botany, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India

    R.N. Kharwar

  2. Department of Botany, Banaras Hindu University Centre of Advances Studies in Botany, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India

    R.S. Upadhyay

  3. Department of Botany, Banaras Hindu University Centre of Advances Studies in Botany, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India

    N.K. Dubey

  4. Department of Botany, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India

    Richa Raghuwanshi

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Maharshi, A., Thaker, V. (2014). Antifungal Activity of Agave Species from Gujarat, India. In: Kharwar, R., Upadhyay, R., Dubey, N., Raghuwanshi, R. (eds) Microbial Diversity and Biotechnology in Food Security. Springer, New Delhi. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-81-322-1801-2_37

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