Efeito de óleos essenciais sobre a micoflora associada às sementes de manjericão

The scarce application of phytosanitary control to the medicinal species, such as basil, makes its seeds an important vector for the propagation of phytopathogens. In this sense, the objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of essential oils on the incidence of fungi in basil seeds using different concentrations of essential oils. A completely randomized design was adopted with four repetitions, in a 3 x 10 factorial scheme (basil essential oil, citronella grass and copaiba and ten concentrations of essential oils: 0; 5; 10; 15; 20; 25; 30; 35; 40 and 100% vv). Tests with essential oils were carried out to evaluate the effect on seed germination and the inhibition of mycoflora present in basil seeds by the Blotter test; and subsequently, the pathogenicity test. Six genera of fungi were identified, some causing leaf spots, such as Curvularia sp..; Colletotrichum sp. and Alternaria sp., and the other genus, such as Aspergillus sp., Cladosporium sp. Penicillium sp., considered contaminating storage fungi. Results showed that the germination of the seeds was inhibited as the concentration of essential oils was increased.