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The antimicrobial properties of crude methanol extracts of above- and below-soil parts of Tulbaghia violacea were quantified by means of an agar diffusion method against 6 plant pathogenic bacteria and 7 fungi. The growth of 3 out of the 6 bacteria, Clavibacter michiganensis, Ralstonia solanacearum, and Xanthomonas campestris, was significantly inhibited by crude extracts of both below-soil and aerial parts of T. violacea, whereas the growth of Pseudomonas syringae, Erwinia carotovora, and Agrobacterium tumefaciens was unaffectedl. Compared with the standard fungicide, both the aerial and below-soil extracts of T. violacea significantly inhibited the mycelial growth of 6 of the 7 test fungi, Botrytis cinerea, Sclerotium rolfsii, Rhizoctonia solani, Mycosphaerella pinodes, Botryosphaeria dothidea, and P. ultimum, whereas only the below-soil extract inhibited the mycelial growth of Fusarium oxysporum significantly. The broad-spectrum antifungal activity shown by the crude T. violaceae extracts supplied a rationale for a further investigation into the in vivo activity of the extracts under glasshouse and field conditions. |
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