STATISTICAL ANALYSIS OF THE ANTIFUNGAL ACTIVITY OF FOUR ESSENTIAL OILS AGAINST Botrytis cinerea

Abstract

The paper presents the descriptive statistics of experimental results regarding the antifungal activity of four essential oils obtained from four new varieties of medicinal plants (Yellow basil, Red-violet basil, Hyssop and Marigold), against the phytopathogenic fungus Botrytis cinerea. The obtained results showed a direct dependence of treatment efficiency on the concentration used and its decrease over time due to losses through volatilization. Additionally, it was established that for some of the essential oils (Red-violet basil and Yellow basil), their action could potentially be fungicidal at higher concentrations. Based on the treatment effectiveness indicator, the analysed variants could be hierarchized in terms of intensity, and the measure of economic efficiency regarding their application was developed. Furthermore, for comparative purposes, the antifungal effect of three compounds (estragole, linalool and eugenol), the major compounds identified in the Basil EOs, was tested. The results showed that for eugenol, at all tested concentrations (c=25%-100%), the effect was fungicidal.