Abstract
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•Thuya essential oil composition varied significantly with phenological stage.•Essential oil from flowering stage was the most active against Botrytis cinerea.•Thuya essential oil reduced fungal infection on tomato detached leaflets.•Thuya essential oil reduced Botrytis cinerea infection by 54 % on tomato fruit.•Pre-treatment of tomato plants with essential oil decreased disease severity by 66 %.
Essential oils (EOs) extracted from medicinal plants gained interest in research due to their potential effectiveness as antimicrobial compounds that can substitute chemical pesticides for treatment of plant derived foods. This study aims to use Tetraclinis articulata EO to control Botrytis cinerea pre- and post-harvest infection on tomato. Tetraclinis articulata EOs extracted at vegetative, flowering and fructification stages were rich in α-pinene (8.10–21.52%), β-caryophyllene (5.17–16.10 %) and caryophyllene oxide (5.57–6.83 %) with the main chemical classes were oxygenated monoterpenes (30.50–50.86 %) and monoterpene hydrocarbons (12.19–28.96 %). The in vitro antifungal activity of EOs against B. cinerea varied with the phenological stage, with the highest activity observed at flowering stage which used subsequently. The activity of α-pinene alone or mixed with bornyl acetate according to their natural proportions at 250 μg mL−1 totally inhibited B. cinerea conidia germination. The pulverization of EO on detached leaflets at 2 mg mL−1 reduced B. cinerea necrosis to 14.50 % in comparison to only infected leaflets 76.00 %. Tetraclinis articulata EO applied as preventive treatment on tomato plants under greenhouse conditions enhanced plants growth and reduced B. cinerea infection to 17.72 % in comparison to infected and non-treated plants 52.11 %. The EO applied at 100 μg mL-1 on tomato fruit reduced infection caused by B. cinerea by 64.01 %. Tetraclinis articulata EO constitutes a promising natural product to reduce B. cinerea infections on tomato in pre- and post-harvest conditions during storage and transport.