EFFICACY OF MILLET BRAN FLAVONOID EXTRACT IN COMBATING ROOT ROT DISEASE CAUSED BY FUSARIUM SOLANI

Abstract

The study was conducted in the Department of Food Science and Biotechnology / College of
Agricultural Engineering Sciences/ University of Baghdad. The objectives of the study were to
extract flavonoid compounds from foxtail millet bran and evaluate their antifungal potential against
Fusarium solani, a fungal disease that kills and rots cress seedling roots. The findings indicated that
940 mcg/g of flavonoids were extracted using 99% ethyl alcohol from foxtail millet bran. In a lab
setting, the impact of flavonoid extract at concentrations of 5, 10, and 20% in PDA culture media on
the development of two pathogen isolates (F1, F2) was investigated. The results showed the
effectiveness of the flavonoid extract (at a concentration of 20%) in inhibiting the growth of the two
isolates by 100%. The results of soaking cress seeds for 60 minutes in flavonoid extract at a
concentration of 20% showed that there was no significant difference between their germination rate
compared to soaking the seeds for the same period in sterile water, as it reached 97.33%. The results
of soaking the seeds in 20% flavonoid extract for 60 minutes, watering the seeds with the extract in
10 ml/pot, and adding a suspension of the pathogen F.solani spores at a concentration of 122×10
spores/ml showed an increase in the percentage germination rate of cress seeds in pot conditions,
reaching 70.0%. In contrast, the percentage germination rate of cress seeds in pot conditions
increased to 63.33% when the seeds were soaked in the extract along with the addition of the
pathogen, as opposed to soaking the seeds in water with the addition of the pathogen, which recorded
a germination rate of 6.67%. This suggests that the flavonoid extract is efficient in shielding garden
cress seeds against rot and root death.