POULTRY FEEDS

Despite the presence of different variety of chemical fungicides, the search for new antifungal substances against plant pathogens continues because of the negative effect these fungicides has on both the plants and the environment. This study was aimed at assessing the antifungal activities of Moringa oleifera and Olea europaea oil individually and their synergistic combination against selected phytopathogenic fungi. Two fungi were isolated from agricultural soils obtained from different locations. Antifungal activities of Moringa, Olive oil individually and synergistically were performed using the food poisoning method. Penicillium chrysogenum and Mucor circinelloides used in this study were isolated from the agricultural soil. The phytochemical analysis of Moringa oil revealed a cocktail of phytochemicals while Olive oil showed only the presence of terpenoids. From the results, Moringa oil alone demonstrated strong activity against the pathogens with radial growth inhibition ranging from 2.83±0.04mm (Penicillium chrysogenum, 14%) to 5.83±0.10mm (Mucor circinelloides, 6%) this was significantly different from the controls (17.66±0.33mm for Penicillium chrysogenum and 39.16±0.05mm for Mucor circinelloides). For Olive oil alone the radial growth inhibition ranged from 4.90±0.05mm (Penicillium chrysogenum, 14%) to 24±0.30mm (Mucor circinelloides, 2%)
this was significantly different from the controls (17.66±0.33mm for Penicillium chrysogenum and 39.16±0.05mm for Mucor circinelloides). The synergistic combination of Moringa oil and Olive oil gave a result ranging from 0.00±0.00mm (Mucor circinelloides, 14%) to 12.33±0.14mm (Penicillium chrysogenum, 14%) compared to their controls (17.66±0.33mm for Penicillium chrysogenum and 39.16±0.05mm for Mucor circinelloides). The highest percentage mycelial radial growth inhibiton for Moringa oil on day 7 was 89.79% (Mucor circinelloides) and the lowest was 71.70% (Penicillium chrysogenum).