Assessment of the Inhibitory Effect of Nanoparticles and Salicylic Acid on

Background and Objective: Alternaria solani is responsible for causing early blight, leaf spot, collar rot, fruit rot and stem canker diseases in solanaceous crops and is very difficult to control. Several management strategies are employed but chemical fungicides are most effective. However, due to their established negative consequences, much greener and eco-friendly options are needed. Nanotechnology could offer new approaches for solving this problem and the present study was carried out to explore the fungicidal activity of twelve nanoparticles against the mycelial inhibition of Alternaria solani. Materials and Methods: The comparative inhibitory effect of twelve Nanoparticles (NPs) viz., Cobalt ferrite (CoFe₂O₄), Elemental copper (Cu^-), Ferric oxide (Fe₂O₃), Nickel ferrite (NiFe₂O₄), Nickel peroxide (NiO₂), Polyamelene (PANI), Polyanelene+ferrite (P600), Tin oxide (SnO₂), Titanium oxide (TiO₂), Zinc ferrite (ZnFe₂O₄), Zinc oxide (ZnO), Zinc peroxide (ZnO₂) and Salicylic acid (SA) were evaluated in vitro against Alternaria solani. All the data were processed by using Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and R-software at (p<0.05). Results: In vitro, screening of NPs and SA at 5, 10, 15, 20 and 25 μg/mL revealed substantial variability to inhibit the mycelial growth of A. solani. In general, the NPs which caused significant inhibition in fungal growth, their effectiveness increased with increase in the concentrations. Among the NPs, zinc peroxide (20 μg/mL), salicylic acid (20 μg/mL), zinc oxide (20 μg/mL), elemental copper (20 μg/mL), nickel peroxide (25 μg/mL) and ferric oxide (25 μg/mL) caused the 100% inhibition in the mycelia growth of A. solani. Conclusion: This is the first study on the fungicidal effects of nano-zinc peroxide on A. solani. However, the mechanism involved in the fungicidal activity and toxicological studies are required to be confirmed.