article · Horticulturae
Early blight, caused by the fungal pathogen Alternaria solani, presents a serious challenge to tomato production. Silver nanoparticles synthesised using neem leaf extract offer an alternative approach for disease control. Tests evaluated these green-synthesised nanoparticles against fungal isolates collected from infected tomato plants, including virulent strains responsible for up to 80 percent disease incidence. Both laboratory and plant-based trials demonstrated that applying the nanoparticles at a concentration of 50 parts per million inhibited fungal growth by 70 to 100 percent. Furthermore, lower concentrations of 5 and 10 parts per million boosted the natural defence mechanisms of the plants, increasing the production of protective enzymes and phenolic compounds by more than 50 percent compared to untreated controls. These findings show that biologically synthesised silver nanoparticles act as effective fungicides and can stimulate plant immunity against fungal infections.
Tomato crops are frequently damaged by early blight, leading to substantial yield losses. By using neem leaf extract rather than hazardous chemical processes to create silver nanoparticles, this approach provides a potentially sustainable treatment. The formulation directly suppresses fungal growth while simultaneously stimulating the natural immune defences of the host plant, offering a promising avenue for modern crop protection programmes.
The findings demonstrate an applied and tested concept for agricultural biopesticides, targeting tomato growers and crop protection programmes. Because the formulation was verified in both laboratory and live plant settings, it serves as an early-stage candidate for commercial antifungal development. Real-world adoption would require further formulation optimisation, cost-effective scaling of the neem-mediated synthesis method, and broader field trials before entering commercial agricultural supply chains.
AI-generated from the published abstract. Always read the original work before citing.
Silver nanoparticles have gained considerable interest in recent decades due to their antimicrobial activity and are used in water disinfection, wound healing, food packaging, and plant protection. This study tested the potential of silver nanoparticles synthesized using the neem (Azadirachta indica) leaf extract against Alternaria solani causes early blight disease in tomato plants. The pathogen was isolated from infected tomato plants and identified using morphological and molecular features. The results showed significant variation among isolates. Isolates, Shk-1 and Ksr-1 were highly pathogenic, causing up to 80% disease incidence. The potential of silver nanoparticles against each isolate was determined using different concentrations of silver nanoparticles. During in vitro and in vivo experiments, the growth inhibition rate of the pathogen was 70–100% at 50 ppm. Lower concentrations of silver nanoparticles (5 and 10 ppm) increased phenolics, PO, PPO, and PAL production by more than 50% as compared to the untreated control. These defensive mechanisms clearly demonstrate the fungicidal potential of AgNPs and recommend their utilization in different crop protection programs.
This page summarises published work. The authoritative version sits with the publisher.
DOI: 10.3390/horticulturae9030369
Is something wrong with this record? Report it or request removal.
Discussion
Have you built on this work, tried to replicate it, or seen it applied in practice? Share what you know. Verified researchers and MARATTO™ domain experts can open a discussion, and any member can reply. Contributions are reviewed before they appear.
No discussion yet. Open the first thread.
New to MARATTO™? Create a free account.
