Effect of Agriculture Waste: Pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) Fruits Peel on Some Important Phytopathogenic Fungi and Control of Tomato Damping-off

Considerable amount of solid wastes in the form of peels and seeds are generated by the fruit processing industries, and these wastes if not disposed correctly are seen to cause serious environmental problems. The aim of this research was to investigate the chemical constituents of the methanolic extract of pomegranate peel and evaluation of the antifungal activity against economically important phytopathogenic fungi as well as its effect on the linear growth, and the efficiency of pomegranate powder and its extract against damping-off disease caused by Fusarium oxysporum. The results showed that, In vitro, methanolic extract of pomegranate peel caused inhibitory effect to the linear growth of six economically important fungal phytopathogens, isolated from different hosts including: Botrytis cinerea, Colletotrichum dematium, Fusarium oxysporum, Fusarium solani, Phoma spp, and Rhizoctonia solani. Also, Pomegranate peel extract (PPE) effectively decreased linear growth and spore germination of F. oxysporum at 4000 ppm. Under greenhouse conditions, application of pomegranate peel powder as seed treatment or soil treatment deceased pre and post emergence damping off caused by Fusarium oxysporum, compared with untreated infected control. Treating tomato seedlings or soil with peel extract before sowing provided a good protection against damping-off. While soil treatment was more effective than seedling treatment. The major components of methanolic extract of pomegranate peel were identified by Gas chromatography/ mass spectrometry analysis.