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Plant Science Today (PST)

Research Articles

Vol. 12 No. sp4 (2025): Recent Advances in Agriculture by Young Minds - III

Antifungal activity of castor leaf extract against Fusarium oxysporum f sp. cubense, the incitant of panama wilt of banana

DOI
https://doi.org/10.14719/pst.6812
Submitted
20 December 2024
Published
21-10-2025

Abstract

Panama wilt is a serious disease affecting banana plants, caused by Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. Cubense. This study aimed to extract bioactive compounds from castor leaves using different solvents and investigate their antifungal activity against the pathogen. Castor leaf extracts prepared using ethanol, acetone, methanol, acetic acid, and water were tested at concentrations of 10% and 20% under in vitro conditions using the poisoned food technique. . The fungal pathogen was inoculated into the medium and incubated for seven days. Among the tested solvent, the acetic acid extract of castor leaves exhibited the highest inhibition of fungal growth, with 97.79 % inhibition observed at the 10 % concentration, followed by the acetone extract with 13.54 % inhibition. Water and methanol extracts showed inhibition rates of 11.38 % and 8.50 % respectively, while the ethanol extract showed the least inhibition of 6.86 %. A similar pattern was observed at the 20 % concentration. These results suggest that acetic acid extraction of castor leaves is highly effective in minimising the incidence of Fusarium wilt in bananas. However, further experimentation under field conditions are necessary to validate the effectiveness of castor leaf extraction against panama wilt.

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