Antifungal activity of medicinal plant extracts against leaf spot disease in rice

Paddy is one of the most important food plants in the world. The plants practice of growing rice in heat lands, popularly known as rice has led a number of diseases affecting the crop. The aim of the present investigation suggests that the antifungal activity of 10 plant extracts used in traditional medicine against the phytopathogenic fungus Bipolaris oryzae by agar well diffusion method. Bipolaris oryzae is a soil borne pathogenic fungi which cause leaf spot disease in Rice. The plants are reservoir of biological active compounds to combat various pathogens. Various medicinal plants were used for antifungal activities against Bipolaris oryzae. The plants Acalypha indica Achyranthes aspera, Andrographis paniculata, Azadirachta indica, Catharanthus roseus, Justicia adhatoda, Plectranthus amboinicus, Phyllanthus niruri, Senna auriculata and Vitex negundo with different solvents such as aqueous, ethanol and methanol was used for extracts of plant phytochemicals by soxhlet apparatus. However methanol with medicinal plants extracts was excellent performance when compared to other solvents. The results were discussed in detail.