EMPIRICAL STUDY ON LEAFSPOT DISEASE IN MULBERRY PLANT USING BIO CHEMICAL METHODS

Sericulture in India is as old as the ancient Indian culture. In the global scenario, India has emerged as one of the important sericulture practicing countries. The healthy and robust growth of the silkworms depends upon the quality mulberry leaf. Diseases are the major limiting factor in Mulberry cultivation, in which Cercosporamoricola Cooke, the incitant of leaf spot is one among them causing a major damage to the leaf production besides affects the silkworm's health. Four plant extracts and three plant oils tested against the pathogen, Eucalyptus globules at 10% (72.59%) and Madhucaindica oil (3%) evidenced a highest inhibition. Among the different fungal biocontrol agents tested against the pathogen, Trichodermaviride (80.55%) signicantly recorded mycelial growth inhibition over control.

Phytochemical analysis using GC-FID, FPLC fingerprinting, antioxidant, antimicrobial, anti- inflammatory activities analysis of traditionally used Eucalyptus globulus essential oil

Eucalyptus globules is an widely distributed in tropical and subtropical regions. It has been widely used as folk medicine, and folk cosmetic owing to its antioxidant values. Despite its importance, phytochemical and pharmacological studies remain infancy. This study was aimed at extraction of essential oil by steam-distillation and evaluation of bioactive components, antioxidant, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory activities along with analysis by UV-VIS, FT-IR and Fluorescent techniques. Fast protein liquid chromatography (FPLC) was used to confirm the presence of polyphenols. Different antioxidant activities like DPPH., ABTS.+, .OH, superoxide, nitric oxide and reducing power of the essential oil. Essential oil was analyzed by UV-VIS, FT-IR and Fluorescent techniques. In vitro antimicrobial activity was also monitored. FT-IR fingerprint qualitative analysis was performed using commercial standards. Considerable amount of flavonoids were detected in essential oil. Oil exhibited considerable scavenging activities of ABTS.+, .OH, superoxide, nitric oxide and reducing power. UV-VIS, FT-IR analysis revealed the presence of polyphenolics in essential oil. Fluorescent spectroscopy revealed the presence of fluorophores in essential oil. FPLC and FT-IR fingerprint analysis revealed the presence of bioactive constituents like rutin, tannic acid, vanillic acid and ascorbic acid in the essential oil. A strong anti-inflammatory activity of oil was observed using fluorescent spectroscopy. An appreciable in vitro antibacterial activity against gram-negative bacteria like Acetobacter aceti and Pseudomonas aeruginosa was detected. The data provides the scientific support to the use of essential oil from Eucalyptus globules as a potent herbal source of bioactive compounds possessing natural antioxidant activities in food and pharmaceutical industries.

Synergistic Effects of Silver Nanoparticles with Ethanolic Extract of Eucalyptus globules on Standard Pathogenic Bacteria in Vitro

Introduction: Nowadays, with the increase of resistance due to overuse of synthetic chemical antibiotics, it seems necessary to find alternative drugs. The aim of this study was to compare the effects of silver nanoparticles and Eucalyptus globules (eucalyptus) ethanolic extract on standard bacteria of Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus cereus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Escherichia coli. Material and Methods: In this experimental study, aerial parts of Eucalyptus plant were collected from Marand city and identified as Eucalyptus plant by botanists of Islamic Azad University, Ahar Branch. In this study, eucalyptus ethanolic extract was prepared by Soxhlet method and the antibacterial effects of eucalyptus extract at concentrations of 20, 30, 50 and 400 mg / ml and silver nanoparticles at concentrations of 10, 20, 40 and 80 μg / ml with agar well diffusion methods and tubular dilution were investigated. Results: The results showed that the ethanolic extract of Eucalyptus had more antibacterial properties compared to silver nanoparticles. Eucalyptus extract and silver nanoparticles had a greater effect on gram-positive bacteria. The effect of the combination of eucalyptus extract and silver nanoparticles was much greater than the effect of either. Conclusion: The results showed that silver nanoparticles in combination with eucalyptus extract have good antimicrobial activity against pathogenic bacteria. Therefore, this extract along with silver nanoparticles can be a good option for future studies in vivo to prepare antibacterial drugs.

Evaluation of Repellent Effectiveness of Polyvinyl Alcohol/Eucalyptus globules Nanofibrous Membranes against Forcipomyia taiwana

This study aims to develop nanofibrous membranes where Eucalyptus globules oil (EGO) is wrapped in polyvinyl alcohol (PVA). The EGO-based nanofibrous membranes are then evaluated for the protection against Forcipomyia taiwana (F. taiwana). In the first stage, the PVA solutions are formulated with different concentrations and are measured for viscosity and electrical conductivity. In the next stage, PVA solution and EGO are blended at different ratios and electrospun into PVA/EGO nanofibrous membranes (i.e., EGO-based repellent). In this study, a PVA concentration of 14 wt% has a positive influence on fiber formation. Furthermore, the finest nanofibers of 291 nm are presented when the voltage is 15 kV. The repellent efficacy can reach 80% in a 60-min release when the repellent is composed of a PVA/oil ratio of 90/10. To sum up, the nanofibrous membranes of essential oil exhibit good repellent efficacy against F. taiwana and significant slow-release effect, instead of adversely affecting the cell viability.

Green Synthesis and Characterization of Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles Using Eucalyptus globules and Their Fungicidal Ability Against Pathogenic Fungi of Apple Orchards

Eucalyptus globules belonging to the Myrtaceae family was explored for the synthesis of zinc oxide nanoparticles and for biological applications. The aqueous extract of the synthesized zinc nanoparticles (ZnNPs) was characterized using UV-visible spectrophotometer, FTIR, SEM and TEM. The aqueous broth was observed to be an efficient reducing agent, leading to the rapid formation of ZnNPs of varied shapes with sizes ranging between 52–70 nm. In addition, antifungal activity of the biosynthesized ZnNPs was evaluated against major phytopathogens of apple orchards. At 100 ppm of ZnNPs, the fungal growth inhibition rate was found to be 76.7% for Alternaria mali, followed by 65.4 and 55.2% inhibition rate for Botryosphaeria dothidea and Diplodia seriata, respectively. The microscopic observations of the treated fungal plates revealed that ZnNPs damages the topography of the fungal hyphal layers leading to a reduced contraction of hyphae. This considerable fungicidal property of ZnNPs against phytopathogenic fungi can have a tremendous impact on exploitation of ZnNPs for fungal pest management and ensure protection in fruit crops.

Effect of different land use systems and soil depths on soil chemical properties alteration in Yerer forests and its surrounding area, at the central highland of Ethiopia

Background Different land-use systems have different potentials to change soil chemical properties either positively or negatively. Hence, scientifically information on the soil chemical properties dynamics under different land-use systems is crucial for best land management practices, and to avoiding ecological negative impacts of it for sustainable development. The study aimed to evaluate the effect of different land-use systems and soil depths on selected soil chemical properties in Yerer forest and its surrounding area, central Ethiopia. The land-use systems included natural forest, four exotic tree plantation species (Eucalyptus globules, Cupressus lusitanica, Grevillea robusta, and Pinus patuala), grassland, grazing land, and agricultural cropland . Results The analysis of variance (ANOVA) for the majority of soil chemical properties of OC, TN, Avial. P, soil pH, EC, CEC, and exchangeable bases (Ca, Mg, K, Na) were showed that significant variations among land-use systems (P<0.0001). The highest mean values of OC (3.487% DM), TN (0.313% DM), Avail.P (31.515 mg/kg of soil), CEC (33.634 meq/100gm soil), Exch. Ca (17.126 cmol(+)/kg soil), Exch. Mg (5.369 cmol(+)/kg soil), and Exch. K (3.597 cmol(+)/kg soil) were observed under natural forest than others of land-use systems. The results also showed that the lowest mean values of OC (1.472% DM), TN (0.130%DM), soil pH (5.377), CEC (18.983 meq/100gm soil), Exch. Ca (9.931 cmol(+)/kg soil), Exch. K (1.197 cmol(+)/kg soil), and Exch. Na (0.206 cmol(+)/kg soil) were recorded under agricultural cropland than other land-use systems. The highest mean values of EC (3.474ds/m), and Exch. Na (0.604 cmol(+)/kg soil) were observed under Eucalyptus globules plantation forest. The overall mean values of OC, TN, Avail.P, CEC, Exch. Mg, Exch. Ca, Exch. K, and Exch. Na accumulation at the topsoil layer was higher than that of the subsoil layer except for soil pH and EC. Conclusion In general, the majority of soil chemical properties under agricultural cropland and Eucalyptus globules plantation forest were poorer than the soils subjected to other land-use systems which indicated that changes in land use system were significantly affected soil chemical properties.