DETERMINATION OF ANTIBACTERIAL ACTIVITY OF PHYTOCHEMICALS TOWARDS XANTHOMONAS CITRI PV. CITRI CAUSING CITRUS CANKER

Citrus canker, caused by Xanthomonas citri pv. citri, is the most destructive disease of citrus throughout the world. Synthetic chemicals have so far proved ineffective and harmful to the environment. That is why in current study, phyto-extracts were examined due to their less hazardous and eco-friendly nature. For the management of citrus canker, nine medicinal phytoextract (C. colocynthis, N. sativa, C. tamala, Z. officinale, P. nigrum, C. verum, S. aromaticum, E. globu, T. Graecum) were evaluated under lab condition. Maximum inhibition zone was produced by C. colocynthis (25.71mm) followed by N. sativa (21.52mm), C. tamala (18.63mm), Z. officinale (20.42mm), P. nigrum (18.99mm). C. verum (15.73mm), S. aromaticum (18.75mm), E. globu (15.37mm), T. Graecum (14.57mm) as compared to control under lab conditions. The most effective phytoextract (C. colocynthis, N. sativa) were evaluated under greenhouse and field condition. Minimum disease severity (12.62%) was observed when of (C. colocynthis + N. sativa) were applied in combination followed by C. colocynthis (23.23%) and N. sativa (28.31%) as compared to the control under greenhouse condition. Maximum disease incidence was noticed by N. sativa (42.18%), C. colocynthis (36.79%) and minimum disease incidence (27.40%) was observed when (C. colocynthis+ N. sativa) were applied in combinations under field condition as compared to the control and reduce the disease severity up to 50%. The results showed that C. colocynthis+ N. sativa can be implicated for the management of citrus canker.