The Effect of Peppermint Extract (Muntha piperita)and Incubation Period on the Growth of Some Plant Pathogenic Fungi

The current research aims at studying the effect of the aqueous extract of mint plant (Muntha piperita) on growth of some fungi such as ; Rhizoctonia solani, Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus terreus, Fusarium oxysporum, Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. The extract has been added to the PDA media at four concentrations 25%, 50%, 75% and 100% in addition to the control treatment (standard PDA media only ) . The results show the effectiveness of the aqueous extracts of mint plant in the inhibition of fungal growth . The highest inhibition is at 100% concentration of the extract , at which the growth of Rhizoctonia solani recorded values of colony diameter; 4.49,6.83, and 8.33 cm for the incubation periods of 1,2,or 3 days , respectively , in comparison with Aspergillus terrens which records the lowest growth values ; 1.82, 2.55, and 3.93 cm colony diameter for the same incubation period as above , respectively . However , the fungus Rhizoctonia solani is not affected by the extract treatments, especially after the incubation periods of 4,5,6,or 7 days . The results also show significant effect of the media on fungal growth . The standard PDA medium gives the highest fungal growth values of colony diameter ; 3.65, 49.13, 5.85, 6.64, 7.23, and 7.72 cm for all incubation periods in compare with 100% concentration of the extract which records values of colony diameter; 3.71, 5.07, 5.89, and 6.64 cm for the same incubation periods , respectively . For the interaction , there is a significant effect of the combination of Fusarium oxysporum and 100% concentration of the extract for the incubation period of 1,2,and 3 days , while the combination of Aspergillus niger , and 100% concentration gave significant effect for the incubation period of 4,5,6, and 7 days in comparison with to other treatment .