Postharvest control of gray mold of tomato using seaweed extracts

The study was carried out to evaluate the effect of brown alga crude extracts of cystoseira tamariscifolia and bifurcaria bifurcata against the mycelium (growth of) botrytis cinerea inducing grey mold during tomato postharvest. the results showed that the hexanic extract (91,000ppm) and the aqueous one (49,600ppm) have a very important inhibitory potency against the tested fungi with a very small amount of 100 μl. the important activity was obtained with the hexanic extract of c. tamariscifolia against b. cinerea with an inhibition zone up to 2 ± 0.18cm. the treatment of tomato fruits inoculated with the fungal species,with the aqueous extract of the brown algae ensures their protection against the phytopathogenicity of the fungus. an important protection was obtained also with the aqueous extract of b. bifurcata. metal contents analysis show that these two seaweeds are not harmful. the practical use of seaweeds during postharvest opens a new way in the biological control. their extracts could be an ecofriendly alternative for the protection of crops against pathogens. © 2017,university of mohammed premier oujda morocco.