ANTIFUNGAL EFFECT OF SOME BORON SALTS AGAINST PENICILLIUM DIGITATUM, THE CASUAL AGENT OF GREEN MOLD OF LEMON
77 th International Symposium on Crop Protection – May 19, 2026, Genk, Belçika, 19 Mayıs 2026, ss.21, (Özet Bildiri)
- Yayın Türü: Bildiri / Özet Bildiri
- Basıldığı Şehir: Genk
- Basıldığı Ülke: Belçika
- Sayfa Sayıları: ss.21
- Çukurova Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet
Özet
Green mold disease caused by Penicillium digitatum is regarded as one of the most important postharvest diseases of citrus fruits and occurs in nearly all citrus-producing regions worldwide. In this study, the antifungal effects of etidot-67 (Na2B8O13.4H2O), borax decahydrate (Na2B4O7.10H2O), anhydrous borax (Na2B4O7) and boric acid (H3BO3) against P. digitatum were evaluated under both in vitro and in vivo conditions. The antifungal activity of the salts against fungal growth was assessed in vitro at concentrations of 0.0625, 0.125, 0.25, 0.50, and 1.0% (w/v), while in vivo experiments were conducted using concentrations of 0.25, 0.5, 1.0, and 2.0% (w/v), using ‘Mayer’ lemon fruits. In the in vivo experiments, two treatment strategies, namely protective and curative activity, were investigated. The results of the in vitro assays demonstrated that boron salts caused statistically significant differences in mycelial growth, spore germination, and germ tube length of P. digitatum compared with the control treatment (P<0.05). The inhibitory effects of all tested boron salts were found to be positively correlated with increasing concentrations. Borax decahydrate, etidot-67 and boric acid completely inhibited mycelial growth, spore germination, and germ tube elongation of P. digitatum at a concentration of 0.125%, whereas at the same concentration, anhydrous borax inhibited these parameters by 71.01%, 94.34%, and 95.64%, respectively, compared with the control. With the exception of anhydrous borax, the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum fungicidal concentration (MFC) values of all tested salts were determined to be 0.125% and >0.5%, respectively. In the in vivo experiments, the application of boron salts at a concentration of 2.0% to lemon fruits after pathogen inoculation (curative activity) resulted in a reduction of green mold development ranging from 53.67% to 83.42% compared with the control treatment (P<0.05). Similarly, when lemon fruits were treated with boron salts at the same concentration prior to pathogen inoculation (protective activity), lesion area was reduced by 51.31% to 66.84% relative to the control. Overall, the findings indicate that boron salts may be considered as potential alternatives to synthetic fungicides for the control of postharvest diseases caused by P. digitatum in lemon fruits.