Essential
oils extracted by hydr
odistillati
on
fr
om l
ocal plants in Benin, western A
frica,
and oil
fr
omseeds
of the neem tree (
Azadirachta indica) were evaluated in vitr
o and in viv
o for their e
fficacyagainst
Fusarium verticillioides in
fecti
on
and fum
onisin c
ontaminati
on. Fum
onisin in c
orn was quanti
fiedusing a
flu
or
ometer
and the Vicam meth
od. Oils
fr
om
Cymbopogon citratus,
Ocimum basilicum,
andOcimum gratissimum were the m
ost e
ffective in vitr
o, c
ompletely inhibiting the gr
owth
of F. verticillioidesat l
ower c
oncentrati
ons
over 21 days
of incubati
on. These
oils reduced the incidence
of F. verticillioidesin c
orn
and t
otally inhibited
fungal gr
owth at c
oncentrati
ons
of 8, 6.4,
and 4.8
f">L/g, respectively,
over21 days. At the c
oncentrati
on
of 4.8
f">L/g, these
oils did n
ot a
ffect signi
ficantly
fum
onisin pr
oducti
on.H
owever, a marked reducti
on
of fum
onisin level was
observed in c
orn st
ored in cl
osed c
onditi
ons.The
oils adversely a
ffected kernel germinati
on at 4.8
f">L/g
and there
fore cann
ot be rec
ommended
for c
ontr
olling
F. verticillioides on st
ored c
orn used as seeds, when used at this c
oncentrati
on. The
oil
of neem seeds sh
owed n
o inhibit
ory e
ffect but rather accelerated the gr
owth
of F. verticillioides.Keyw
ords: C
orn;
Fusarium verticillioides;
fum
onisin; essential
oils;
Cymbopogon citratus;
Ocimumbasilicum;
Ocimum gratissimum