The effect of plant extracts from Solanum nigrum L. and Avena fatua L. on the growth of some weed species and agropathogenic fungi

Abstract

Experiments to evaluate 40% and 80% methanol extracts prepared from the aboveground parts of two <em>Solanum nigrum</em> biotypes and from the roots of two <em>Avena sativa</em> biotypes were used to test the growth and development of some weed species and agropathogens. The species collected from different crop fields were <em>Viola arvensis</em>, <em>Chenopodium album</em>, <em>Stellaria media</em>, <em>Papaver rhoeas</em>, and <em>Thlaspi arvense</em> together with the pathogenic fungi <em>Fusarium avenaceum</em>, <em>F. culmorum</em>, and <em>F. oxysporum</em>. Plant morphological changes and significant fresh weight reduction of <em>Viola arvensis</em> were observed when treated with both 40% and 80% extracts. A similar response was found in <em>C. album</em>, but only when plants were treated with an 80% extract obtained from plants of <em>S. nigrum</em> collected from a maize field. The most susceptible to both extracts from <em>A. fatua</em> roots growing in a spring wheat field were <em>C. album</em> and <em>S. media</em>, whereas <em>V. arvensis</em> was only susceptible to the 80% extract. The addition of the extracts obtained from <em>A. fatua</em> to PDA medium at concentrations of 0.1% and 1% contributed to significant reductions in the mycelium growth of all three <em>Fusarium</em> species. The extract obtained from <em>S. nigrum</em> added to PDA medium at 1% concentration slightly stimulated mycelium growth of <em>F. oxysporum</em>.