The castor bean (Ricinus communis L.) is a tropical oilseed species, and the oil extracted from its seeds is one of the most versatile oils in the nature, showing various industrial uses. Even though it is a rustic species, the castor bean is subjected to several diseases such as the gray mold, caused by the fungus Amphobotrys ricini. Genetic breeding would be the best alternative for the disease control, but a long time is required to obtain resistant cultivars. Thus, the use of control strategies based on chemical, alternative or biological methods shows viable in the short term. The aim of this study was to investigate gray mold control efficiency, in castor bean crop, using chemical, alternative and biological methods. The pathogen control efficiency was evaluated both in vitro and in vivo using fungicides, essential oils and biological control agents. As regards the in vitro inhibition of the pathogen mycelial growth, the best treatments with essential oils were those based on C. martini and C. zeylanicum at all five tested concentrations. For both oils, the average diameter of colonies was 0.7 cm against 4.79 cm for the control treatment. For the fungicides, at all four tested levels, the most efficient active ingredients were methyl tiophanate, carbendazim, tebuconazole and iprodione. The ED50 of these fungicides was <1uL/L, yielding 100% mycelial growth inhibition at all concentrations. As to the inhibition of A. ricini conidium germination, the fungicides tebuconazole and chlorotanolyl were the best at all tested concentrations, and the average of germinated conidia with these fungicides was 0.0 and 0.15%, respectively, against 100% for the control treatment. In the field, treatment with the fungicide iprodione was the best for the disease control when compared to biological and alternative treatments. Under field conditions, the average disease severity for the treatment with iprodione was 15.76% against 95.81% for the inoculated control.
castor bean; control; disease; vegetal extracts and gray mold
