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Citrus and lemongrass essential oils inhibit Botrytis cinerea on ‘Golden Delicious’, ‘Pink Lady’ and ‘Granny Smith’ apples

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Abstract

There is a demand for the reduction in use of chemicals on fruit commodities worldwide. Citrus and lemongrass essential oils were screened against Botrytis cinerea using direct contact and volatile phase assays. Mycelial growth and spore germination of B. cinerea were completely inhibited by lemongrass, lemon + lemongrass and lime + lemongrass essential oils in direct contact phase, at concentrations of 5.0–35.0%. The antifungal activity of lemon and lime essential oils was less compared to lemongrass essential oil. All essential oil treatments significantly (P < 0.05) inhibited B. cinerea in the volatile phase method at concentrations of 0.016–1.0% compared to control treatment. Increasing the concentration of all essential oils tested increases inhibition of mycelial growth and spore germination of B. cinerea. Based on light microscopy and scanning electron microscopy studies, morphological damage such as vesiculation, cytoplasmic disruption and collapsed hyphae was observed on B. cinerea hyphae exposed to lemongrass essential oil. Exposure of B. cinerea to lemongrass essential oil further caused a release of cellular materials and a reduction in extractable lipids in the treated hyphae. These observations indicate that the antifungal activity of lemongrass oil can be attributed to disruption of membrane integrity and membrane permeability. Citrus and lemongrass essential oils significantly reduced decay in three apple cultivars when applied as dip and thermofogging treatments in semi-commercial trials. The results demonstrated the potential of lemon, lime and lemongrass essential oils as alternatives to synthetic fungicides to control B. cinerea on apples.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank the research technicians at ARC Infruitec-Nietvoorbij, Mr Elton Williams, Mrs Lisinda Gordon and Mrs Sonia Adonis for technical support.

Funding

This research was supported by Agricultural Research Council (ARC) Infruitec-Nietvoorbij, Technology and Human Resources for Industry Programme (THRIP) and National Research Foundation (NRF).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Plant Pathology, School of Agricultural, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Scottsville, Pietermaritzburg, 3209, South Africa

    Nokwazi C. Mbili

  2. Postharvest and Wine Technology Division, Agricultural Research Council – Infruitec/Nietvoorbij, Stellenbosch, 7599, South Africa

    Nokwazi C. Mbili & Filicity A. Vries

  3. Fruit and Postharvest Pathology Research Programme, Department of Plant Pathology, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, 7602, South Africa

    Nokwazi C. Mbili & Cheryl L. Lennox

  4. Department of Horticultural Science, Postharvest Technology Research Laboratory, Stellenbosch, 7602, South Africa

    Umezuruike L. Opara

Authors
  1. Nokwazi C. Mbili
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  2. Umezuruike L. Opara
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  3. Cheryl L. Lennox
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  4. Filicity A. Vries
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Correspondence to Nokwazi C. Mbili.

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Mbili, N.C., Opara, U.L., Lennox, C.L. et al. Citrus and lemongrass essential oils inhibit Botrytis cinerea on ‘Golden Delicious’, ‘Pink Lady’ and ‘Granny Smith’ apples. J Plant Dis Prot 124, 499–511 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s41348-017-0121-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s41348-017-0121-9

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