Effective Management of Cucumber Powdery Mildew with Essential Oils

Yasser S. Mostafa, Mohamed Hashem, Ali M. Alshehri, Saad Alamri, Ebrahem M. Eid, El-Sayed H.E. Ziedan and Sulaiman A. Alrumman
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Yasser S. Mostafa: Biological Science Department, Faculty of Science, King Khalid University, Abha 61321, Saudi Arabia
Mohamed Hashem: Biological Science Department, Faculty of Science, King Khalid University, Abha 61321, Saudi Arabia
Ali M. Alshehri: Biological Science Department, Faculty of Science, King Khalid University, Abha 61321, Saudi Arabia
Saad Alamri: Biological Science Department, Faculty of Science, King Khalid University, Abha 61321, Saudi Arabia
Ebrahem M. Eid: Biological Science Department, Faculty of Science, King Khalid University, Abha 61321, Saudi Arabia
El-Sayed H.E. Ziedan: Plant Pathology, National Research, Dokki, Cairo 12622, Egypt
Sulaiman A. Alrumman: Biological Science Department, Faculty of Science, King Khalid University, Abha 61321, Saudi Arabia

Agriculture, 2021, vol. 11, issue 11, 1-16

Abstract: This research evaluated the efficacy of essential oils in the management of cucumber powdery mildew. Essential oils of lemongrass, lemon, thyme, peppermint, abundance blend, purification blend, and thieves blend were tested in vitro and under greenhouse conditions in two separate experiments. The effects of essential oils were tested against powdery mildew disease at concentrations of 1.0–2.5 mL/L, and the consequent impact of the oils on plant growth was evaluated. Powdery mildew fungus, Podosphaera xanthii , was identified using sequencing of the ITS region. The essential oils significantly reduced disease incidence up to 77.3% compared with the positive control ( p < 0.5). Moreover, the essential oils increased the plant length (up to 187 cm), leaf area (up to 27.5 cm 2 ), fresh weight (up to 123 g), dry weight (up to 22.5 g), number of flowers (16.3), and metabolite content compared with the positive control ( p < 0.5). Cell membrane injury decreased significantly in the oil-treated pants ( p < 0.5), indicating the protective effect of essential oils. This study recommends the application of essential oils in an appropriate dose (2.5 mL/L) to protect cucumber plants against powdery mildew. Overdose of the oils (more than 2.5 mL/L) should be avoided due to adverse effects.

Keywords: cucumber; essential oils; crop management; disease control; Podosphaera xanthii; powdery mildew (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: 2021
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