Poplar stem blister canker and its control strategies by plant extracts

Stem blister canker is a serious stem disease in the Populus genus in China. The pathogen was confirmed as Botryosphaeria dothidea (Moug. ex Fr.) Ces. et de Not. based on its morphological, pathological and molecular features. Seven selected plant species Artemisia annua, Gleditsia sinensis, Lonicera japonica, Macleaya cordata, Phyllodendron chinense, Polygonum cuspidatum and Scutellaria baicalensis, belonging to different families from China, were extracted with the solvent 95% (v/v) ethanol to yield ethanol extracts which were used to evaluate their antifungal activity against poplar stem canker pathogen by a mycelial radial growth inhibition test. Of them, the extracts of M. cordata, P. cuspidatum and S. baicalensis showed stronger antifungal activity, the median inhibitory concentration (IC(50)) was 0.3125, 1.0219 and 0.9675 mg ml(-1) separately. The control effect of extracts of M. cordata, P. cuspidatum and S. baicalensis on poplar stem canker disease was between 62% and 85%. The inhibitory effect of the extracts indicated the importance of some plant species as possible natural source of fungicidal material.