Essential Oils Heal Tamarillo

Through lab testing they established that extracts from thymus (Thymus vulgaris)and lemon grass(Cymbopogon citratus) and their main active compounds, thymol and citral, fight efficiently the Colletotrichum acutatum fungus, responsible for the pathology.

Results show that those essential oils don"t deteriorate the growing, nor the normal development of the plants. Meanwhile, they prevent sporulation, which is the fungus" spore germination "This is a very efficient way to attack the disease," said Carlos Mario García, chemist from the Universidad Nacional de Colombia, who leads the study.

Anthracnose is a disease considered as one of the most devastating within tamarillo cultivations and even within other fruits, such as papaya, mango, avocado, and strawberry among many others. The fight against this disease represents at least 20 percent of the total budget of tamarillo producers.

Experts from the Chemistry of Natural Products and Foods Group pointed out that the synthetic products used to control anthracnose have an important role within agricultural production.

However, the continuous and indiscriminate use of agrochemicals with low specificity (used to fight any kind of pathology instead of a specific one), has produced several inconvenients, such as a raise in production costs, the development of resistance from the microorganisms, the presence of pesticide residues in food and, as a consequence, the risks to human health and environment.

"For this reason, essential oils have a great variety of applications. However, our study doesn"t have established yet if blooming or pollination are affected, or if the fruit"s flavor is altered," said Carlos Mario García.

To reach this goal, a new study will soon be accomplished in vivo, allowing to determine the most effective formulas so the lemon grass and thyme essential oils will be applicable.