IMPACT OF ESSENTIAL OILS ON PHYTOPATHOGENIC FUNGI

Primjena sintetskih fungicida predstavlja još uvijek najučinkovitiju zaštitu od uzročnika biljnih bolesti. Međutim, prekomjerna i dugotrajna uporaba fungicida može dovesti do mnogih štetnih nuspojava, poput štetnoga djelovanja na ljudsko zdravlje, zagađenja okoliša i rezistentnosti patogena. Biološki spojevi koji se nalaze u eteričnim uljima nemaju nikakve štetne učinke na ljude i okoliš, pa mogu biti jedna od značajnih alternativa sintetskim fungicidima. Eterična ulja su sekundarni metaboliti biljaka, a često posjeduju antifungalna, antibakterijska, insekticidna, antivirusna i nematocidna svojstva. Kemijski sastav i biološki učinak eteričnih ulja je složen i ovisi o vrsti biljke, dijelu biljke iz kojega se uzima, podrijetlu, pedoklimatskim uvjetima, vremenu žetve, sezoni berbe i prerade, kao i o uvjetima skladištenja, vrsti patogena, primijenjenoj količini, načinu ekstrakcije i načinu aplikacije. Zbog toga se provode mnoga istraživanja antifungalnoga djelovanja eteričnih ulja na različite fitopatogene in vitro i in vivo ne bi li se pronašla eterična ulja ili njihove kombinacije čiji je antifungalno djelovanje jednako djelovanju sintetskih fungicida.The use of synthetic fungicides is still the most effective protection against phytopathogenic fungi. However, the excessive and long-term use of fungicide can lead to many adverse side effects such as adverse effects on human health, environmental pollution and pathogen resistance. Biological compounds extracted from plants, such as essential oils, do not have any adverse effects on humans and the environment so they can be one of the most important alternatives to synthetic fungicides. Essential oils are secondary metabolites of plants that often possess antifungal, antibacterial, insecticidal, antiviral and nematocidal properties. The chemical composition and the biological effect of essential oils is complex and dependent on the type of a plant, the part of the plant it is taken from, its origin, pedoclimatic conditions, harvest time, harvesting season and processing conditions, storage conditions, type of pathogen, amount applied and application. Therefore, many in vitro and in vivo studies of antifungal activity of essential oils to various fungopathogenic fungi are carried out in order to find essential oils or combinations thereof whose inhibitory growth potential of phytopathogenic fungi is comparable to synthetic fungicides