Role of Green Synthesized Zno Nanoparticles as Antifungal against Post-Harvest Gray and Black Mold of Sweet Bell Pepper

In this work, green ZnO nanoparticles were synthesized using leaves extract of olive (GS ZnO-NPo) and marjoram (GS ZnO-NPm). The antifungal activity of both green synthesized ZnO nanoparticles against Botrytis cinerea and Alternaria alternate, the cause of postharvest gray and black mold of pepper fruits diseases, was tested in vitro. The results of GS-ZnO were compared with those of chemically synthesized ZnO nanoparticles (ZnO-NPc).Corporating GS ZnO-NPm at concentration of 400µg/ml to PDA medium achieved the highest inhibition to the radial growth of both pathogenic fungi, followed by GS ZnO-NPo then ZnO-NPc. The evaluation disease management of gray and black mold of pepper fruits (artificially inoculated with the tested two fungi) showed significant reduction to the appearance of both diseases of pepper fruits treated with any of the two green synthesized ZnO nanoparticles compared with chemically synthesized ZnO-NPc and control. Application of green synthesized ZnO nanoparticles is promising as an alternative to synthetic fungicides for management of postharvest diseases.

Keywords: Antifungal potential, Black mold, Gray mold, green synthesis, pepper, ZnO nanoparticles .