Antifungal activity of some essential oils against Fusarium wilt disease of faba bean

Fusarial wilt of faba bean is a major cause of yield loss worldwide. For minimizing chemical fungicide utilization, natural alternatives were used. Antifungal activity of eleven essential oils was evaluated in vitro against some phyto-pathogenic fungi. At 5 % MIC values, clove and mint EOs demonstrated promising efficacy against the investigated fungi, particularly Fusarium oxysporum f. fabae (FOF). The potential of mint and clove EOs and a commercial chemical fungicide in controlling FOF wilt disease in faba bean plants was examined in a pot experiment. FOF infection severely impacted faba bean germination and growth rates, CAT, GPX and APX activities, phenolics, flavonoids and GB contents, but non-significantly affected chlorophyll content. Additionally, this infection raised the level of carotenoids, osmomodulators, stress indicators, as well as SOD and PPO activities. Histochemically, FOF caused leaf tissues to accumulate more H2O2 and O-2(center dot-). Though clove and mint EOs, single or FOFintegrated treatments, did not affect photosynthetic pigments level, they were powerful in reducing stress markers with tiny signs of H2O2 and O-2(center dot-) generation. When combined with FOF, EOs greatly restored metabolic and antioxidative homeostasis of stressed plants. So, EOs might be utilized safely without any constraints as a natural substitute for synthetic fungicides.