Abstract
Rosemary essential oil was evaluated for antifungal potentiality against six major ginseng pathogens: Sclerotinia sclerotiorum, Sclerotinia nivalis, Cylindrocarpon destructans, Alternaria panax, Botrytis cinerea, and Fusarium oxysporum. The in vitro fungicidal effects of two commonly used fungicides, namely mancozeb and fenhexamid, and the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) of Trichoderma koningiopsis T-403 on the mycelial growth were investigated. The results showed that rosemary essential oil is active against all of the pathogenic strains of ginseng root rot, whereas rosemary oil displayed high ability to inhibit the Sclerotinia spp. growth. The highest sensitivity was S. nivalis, with complete inhibition of growth at 0.1% v/v of rosemary oil, followed by Alternaria panax, which exhibited 100% inhibition at 0.3% v/v of the oil. Minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of rosemary oil ranged from 0.1 % to 0.5 % (v/v). Chemical analysis using GC-MS showed the presence of thirty-two constituents within rosemary oil from R. officinals L. Camphore type is the most frequent sesquiterpene in rosemary oil composition. Mancozeb and fenhexamid showed their highest inhibition effect (45% and 30%, respectively) against A. panax. T. koningiopsis T-403 showed its highest inhibition effect (84%) against C. destructans isolate. This study may expedite the application of antifungal natural substances from rosemary and Trichoderma in the prevention and control of phytopathogenic strains in ginseng root infections.