Anti-sprouting, anti-microbial and insecticidal properties of plants from Cusco region of Peru to benefit potato tuber storage (annex 34 of final technical report)

In the current study volatile constituents of selected Peruvian aromatic plants were identified and efficacy of volatiles of these plants as anti-sprouting, antimicrobial and insecticidal agents was determined. Smallholder farmers of Cusco region of Peru have used aromatic plants for hundreds of years to protect potato tuber in storage from insect damage. In this study we assessed cytotoxicity of plant extracts/essential oils of Clove bud, Peppermint, Eucalipto, Muña, Arrayán and Molle. The most potent was fresh Eucalipto sawdust, as a combination of activity of volatiles and physical barrier. Results clearly support usage of Muña and Eucalipto plant material for prolonging healthy potato storage