The Use of Thyme ( Thymus vulgaris ) Essential Oil for Controlling Cercospora Leaf Spot ( Cercospora beticola ) on Sugar Beets ( Beta vulgaris )

Agnieszka Kiniec (), Maciej Spychalski, Wojciech Miziniak, Magdalena Palacz and Rafal Kukawka ()
Additional contact information
Agnieszka Kiniec: Regional Experimental Station, Institute of Plant Protection, National Research Institute, Ul. Pigwowa 16, 87-100 Torun, Poland
Maciej Spychalski: Poznan Science and Technology Park, Adam Mickiewicz University Foundation, Ul. Rubiez 46, 61-612 Poznan, Poland
Wojciech Miziniak: Regional Experimental Station, Institute of Plant Protection, National Research Institute, Ul. Pigwowa 16, 87-100 Torun, Poland
Magdalena Palacz: Poznan Science and Technology Park, Adam Mickiewicz University Foundation, Ul. Rubiez 46, 61-612 Poznan, Poland
Rafal Kukawka: Poznan Science and Technology Park, Adam Mickiewicz University Foundation, Ul. Rubiez 46, 61-612 Poznan, Poland

Agriculture, 2024, vol. 14, issue 11, 1-19

Abstract: Decreasing efficacy of fungicides and the withdrawal of further hazardous active ingredients in pesticides from use have prompted the search for alternative methods of crop protection. Essential oils (EOs) are secondary metabolites of plants and have been proven to show antibacterial, antifungal, and pest-repellent properties. This study was undertaken to determine the activity of grapefruit, rosemary, pine, sage, and thyme EOs against the fungus Cercospora beticola , which is the most dangerous pathogen of sugar beet and the causal agent of Cercospora leaf spot. According to the determined Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC), thyme EO was found the most effective against C. beticola . For most of the fungal isolates tested, the MIC of this EO was 0.313 mL/L. Thyme EO also inhibited the growth of multi-resistant isolates. Based on the results obtained, thyme EO was subjected to further testing in field conditions, where its efficiency in controlling C. beticola was also proven. The results indicate that the use of thyme EO may be a promising method for the protection of sugar beets, although it requires further optimization in the context of its inclusion in sustainable protection programs assuming a reduced number of synthetic fungicide treatments.

Keywords: essential oils; sugar beet; Cercospora beticola; Cercospora leaf spot (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/14/11/2017/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/14/11/2017/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jagris:v:14:y:2024:i:11:p:2017-:d:1517292

Access Statistics for this article

Agriculture is currently edited by Ms. Leda Xuan

More articles in Agriculture from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().