Essential Oils as Biocontrol Agents of Early and Late Blight Diseases of Tomato under Greenhouse Conditions

Tomato production worldwide is usually restrained by various infections, among them mainly the late and early blight caused by Phytophthora infestans and Alternaria solani, respectively. Lately, there has been a growing concern over the use of synthetic fungicides on environmental and food safety, hence the need to explore other alternatives that are friendly to the user, the consumer, and the general environment. This research sought to test the potency of ginger, garlic, and Mexican marigold essential oils against the early and late blight diseases of tomato under greenhouse conditions. A synthetic fungicide (Ridomil Gold (R)) was used as a positive control while distilled water acted as a negative control. The extraction of essential oils was done by dry steam distillation and then mixed with tween twenty before being topped up with sterile distilled water. They were then used to spray tomato plants that had been inoculated with A. solani and P. infestans isolates under greenhouse conditions. The tomato plants were evaluated for growth, yield, and disease severity. The data obtained was subjected to ANOVA and separation of means was conducted using Student-Newman-Keul (SNK) test at 95% level of confidence. The three essential oils had a significant potency against the two diseases which is comparable to the synthetic fungicide. Marigold essential oil was also found to have a significant impact on the general growth of sprayed tomato plants. Essential oils of the three plants can be further explored as alternative products management of the two diseases.