Abstract
Organic solvents are widely used in bioassay experiments to dissolve water-insoluble technical grade fungicides, and the added organic solvents may substantially influence toxicity of the fungicides tested. In this study, toxicity of the four organic solvents methanol, ethanol, acetone, and dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) to Sclerotinia sclerotiorum and Botrytis cinerea were determined. EC50 values of methanol, ethanol, acetone and DMSO against S. sclerotiorum were 13.5, 24.3, 21.8, and 20.1 μl/ml, respectively, and EC50 values of the four solvents against B. cinerea were 20.7, 30.2, 57.2, and 20.6 μl/ml, respectively. At solvent concentrations from 1 to 10 μl/ml (0.1 % to 1 % v/v), the EC50 values of the fungicides dimethachlon and pyraclostrobin decreased along with the increase of solvent concentration. Interaction analysis based on inhibition percentages of mycelial growth on potato dextrose agar (PDA) identified synergistic, additive, and rarely antagonistic interactions between fungicide and solvent. Permeability of cell membrane of S. sclerotiorum grown on PDA amended with ethanol, acetone or DMSO at 1 % was significantly higher than at 0.1 % and that of the solvent-free control. This study demonstrated that solvent concentrations may greatly influence toxicity of fungicides and therefore, solvent concentrations should be kept as low as possible. These results are valuable for choosing appropriate solvents and concentrations in assays of fungicide toxicity.
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Acknowledgments
This study was supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (31371964) and the Special Fund for Agro-scientific Research in the Public Interest (201103016). The authors are grateful to Prof. Daohong Jiang and Guoqing Li of Huazhong Agricultural University.
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Liang, HJ., Lu, XM., Zhu, ZQ. et al. Effect of organic solvent on fungicide toxicity to Sclerotinia sclerotiorum and Botrytis cinerea . Eur J Plant Pathol 146, 37–45 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10658-016-0889-7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10658-016-0889-7